Soft-focus illustrations in acrylic and colored pencil introduce Little Bunny as he and his young animal friends play at night in the forest. Little Bunny learns that the dark is not something scary but instead presents opportunities to dig in the dirt with Freddie the fox and play in the moonlight with a family of dormice. A friendly owl named Olive reminds Little Bunny that it isn’t really safe for little rabbits to be out alone at night, and she leads him back to his burrow, where his parents are waiting for him. The plodding story is rather old-fashioned and definitely of the forest-fairy-tale subgenre, as predator and prey play together as friends, and the owl warns the bunny and leads him home rather than having him for dinner. The book’s raison d'être is its changing-picture format, used for the cover illustration and for three spreads inside. The circular changing-picture inserts cleverly shift to a new picture by lifting a tree-shaped insert at the right-hand side of the page. Toddlers and younger preschoolers will be fascinated by this quick-change effect within the page, as the bunny and the squirrel transform into a fox, or the bunny and his mother change into the rabbit family asleep in their cozy burrow. Sweet but far from essential. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5263-0
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Templar/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Silly, wiggly, giggly fun.
Playful bedtime reading, with octopuses.
Protagonist Floyd is a rambunctious, anthropomorphic octopus child who’s quite a handful. Even with their combined 16 arms, his Mommy-O and OctoPop can’t contain him. Of course, “giggly, squiggly, oh-so-wiggly” Floyd has eight arms of his own, and they never stop moving. The characters’ anthropomorphism extends to the degree that they appear to live in a space that isn’t underwater (though perhaps it’s a submerged submarine of sorts?), and part of Floyd’s bedtime routine includes taking a bath. He fills a massive, three-tiered tub, and all three of them end up soaking wet. Tooth-brushing is a frothy mess, but getting Floyd into his pajamas proves the most challenging with so very many arms and armholes to negotiate. “Get ready for the nightly rumble…the OCTO PAJAMA TANGLE TUMBLE!” reads the emphatic type, and it takes two double-page spreads to get everyone sorted out. Throughout, Schwarz’s bright, cartoon art depicts the octopus family as rounded, downright cuddly beings in bright hues that capture the lively spirit of the text.
Silly, wiggly, giggly fun. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4521-4010-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
An eye-catching palette and charming characters will draw readers in from the very first page.
As it turns out, beauty is in the ear of the beholder.
Blue Baboon wanders into a park and spots a musical combo playing. She sees a bassoon on its stand, scoops it up, and starts playing along. Sadly, she is not a natural, and an elephant, one of the musicians, takes the instrument away from her. After a storm puts an end to the music, Blue Baboon spies a sign for nighttime hot air balloon rides and takes off in one; as she does, the elephant hands (trunks?) the bassoon to her, and eventually she finds a new place to play her music—and a friend, Green Baboon, who appreciates her unusual sound. Though the rhyming text is spare, with just a few words per page (“Big monsoon, wet baboon”), there are many details in the vibrant illustrations (the facial expressions of all the characters, including the moon, the ducks who follow along), all contributing to the depth of the story. Even the music feels vivid, shown in floating, gentle bubbles from the combo in contrast to the boldly colored lightning bolts that emanate when Blue Baboon and Green Baboon play. Children will enjoy pointing out the pink balloon with a white heart that appears in every spread. The characters are endearing, and the final two-page spread is a visual delight, with everyone floating through the sky in dazzling hot air balloons. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An eye-catching palette and charming characters will draw readers in from the very first page. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72823-890-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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