Youngsters of the human, as well as lapine and vulpine, variety will enjoy this nighttime treat.
A bevy of bunnies blissfully bounces into bedtime business.
Defying the usual scenario in books of this type, little ones cheerfully prepare for slumber without complaint or hint of duplicitous delay. When called inside from playtime by their mom, the chubby bunnies obediently hop to necessary nighttime routines: donning pajamas; washing; brushing teeth; and, naturally, cleaning paws, combing tails, and trimming claws. Then it’s time for hugs before settling down. But what’s this? A “bushy, orange tail” reveals a sleepytime stowaway. Why, it’s a giggly fox, adorned in “bunny ears and bunny socks.” And there’s more—a whole family of pj’s–clad fox cubs waits with their mom outside the warren. An invitation to join a charming, interspecies bedtime-story session ensues, with the mother rabbit doing the reading honors. Afterward, each mother tucks in with her respective adorable brood, and off to dreamland all go. This cute British import, narrated in lilting verse, should usher readers/listeners to a happy, stress-free sleep. Emphatic expressions (“EVERYBUNNY IN!”; “EVERYBUNNY WASH!”; “A FOX!”) are dramatically incorporated into the artwork on two-page spreads set in faux-handwritten all-caps. The expressive, child-appealing illustrations propel the action well, and the foxes are supremely unthreatening. Endpapers capture snoozing families.
Youngsters of the human, as well as lapine and vulpine, variety will enjoy this nighttime treat. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4004-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
The runaway cookie in this Mexican bakery is a soft, brown, stubby-tailed piglet as impertinently bold and smug in his continual escape as his Gingerbread Boy cousin. “Chase me! Chase me down the street. But this is one piggy you won’t get to eat! / ¡Córrele, córrele! ¡Y Córrele más! ¡Soy el cochinito que jamás comerás!” This bouncy dual refrain extends the familiar cumulative text, rendered in both English and Spanish, as piggy manages to elude Marta the baker, Lorenzo the mechanic, Mamá Nita the beautician, Joaquín the telephone repairman and a host of other neighborhood adults—until he is outsmarted by Rosa, a little girl on her way to school, who foxily “helps him” cross the street. Safely tucked into her backpack, piggy is both a welcome surprise and an excuse for Rosa’s lateness to class. Deep opaque acrylic paintings of a colorful barrio and its residents in pursuit add the right amount of cultural flavor to this vivid Latino retelling. Recipe appended. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-55885-586-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2010
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