A delightful children’s tale about a dog adapting to change.
In Meglio’s debut children’s picture book, a 6-year-old dog moves to a new home and becomes a big sister to a new puppy.
Change can pose a great hurdle for children. Meglio’s story presents a positive view of life transitions that adults may use as a springboard for conversations with kids. Cocoa Bear, a fluffy Bernese Mountain dog, contentedly lives with her owner, “Mom,” in New York City—happily lapping up attention from passersby; going on walks with her “boyfriend” Tiberius, a golden retriever; and having rollicking good times with other dogs in Central Park. But one day, Mom moves the family to a new home in rural Connecticut. Initially, Cocoa Bear is sad and scared, fretting over how she’ll get along without her friends and anxious about challenges she’ll face in the new setting. But she soon discovers the upsides of country living: “I didn’t need a leash. I could bury bones all over the place....I didn’t have to ride in a crowded elevator.” Then, just as she’s settled in at last, Mom adds a new Bernese puppy, Bennie, to the household. Children will likely relate to Cocoa Bear’s conflicted feelings; she’s jealous that the spotlight is no longer on her and upset that her territory has been invaded (“He took over my favorite chair and my special blanket”). After a major snowstorm hits, Cocoa Bear grumbles about having to dig Bennie out of a snowdrift and, later, rescue him from atop a picnic table. But young readers will sense that Cocoa Bear has actually taken to Bennie and is quickly growing into her new role as older sibling. When springtime comes, she teaches the young pup lots of things: “How to scare the delivery men; how to dig a hole big enough to crawl into; and how to sneak up on ducks and drink the pond water.” Cocoa Bear is depicted as an expressive, sympathetic character, and her humorous observations and remarks will likely have children laughing. Accompanying photographs illustrate the two dogs’ irresistible antics, although some are a tad blurry; well-chosen clip art adds a fun dash to the visuals.
A delightful children’s tale about a dog adapting to change.Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2012
ISBN: 978-1478172604
Page Count: 48
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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