An energetic and engaging tale that introduces French phrases to English speakers.
In Joannides’ illustrated children’s book, an adventuresome brother-sister duo learns French while helping a lost flamingo find his way to a shrimp festival.
Meli and Mac, two pale-skinned, English-speaking siblings, plan to travel with their family to France. One day, bored of studying French, Mac proposes that they go on one of their signature expeditions. The pair pack up and head to Serendipity Forest and up a tree, where they encounter a “very chic but weary looking flamingo” from France. The flamingo, Freddie, got lost on his way to a “Shrimp Extravaganza”—the biggest shrimp-eating festival for flamingos—because he struggled to read the English on the road signs. He’s been flying for days with no shrimp or algae to give his feathers their signature pink hue. Meli and Mac decide to help him and, armed with their “magic map,” they make it to his destination. The siblings enjoy themselves at the festival, catching shrimp for Freddie before they return home, where Mac resumes studying French. Joannides’ text is lively and entertaining with a clear storyline that young readers will enjoy. Ende’s full-color, painterly illustrations add to the story, and French phrases are peppered throughout with footnoted translations to encourage youngsters to learn new words. One drawback is that the focus on the French language may somewhat limit its accessibility for readers who are unfamiliar with French pronunciation. However, the book’s focus on the importance of multilingualism for cultural understanding is one that many will find refreshing.
An energetic and engaging tale that introduces French phrases to English speakers.Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2023
ISBN: 9781839527265
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Brown Dog Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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