All the fun of imagination without the mess of reality.
A young boy imagines the riot that would ensue if his house were overrun with wild animals.
“The lions would roar as they sprawled on the floor. / The lemurs would lollygag right by the door. / My daddy would try to sit down in his chair. / He’d holler and whoop with a porcupine there!” The hodgepodge of animals ranges from forest chipmunks and savanna giraffes to Australian kangaroos and even an octopus. And they all come with mischief in mind. Pinder neatly describes the chaos that this bunch could cause. From ruining the furniture and eating all the food to taking up the comfiest places, they would eventually leave no room for the boy and his family, relegating them to sleeping outside. And in fact, the boy wisely decides in the end that, as much fun as all the animals might be, he will be satisfied with just his cat and dog. The rhyming verses have a nice rhythm, and a repeated refrain allows listeners to join in. Brown uses a similar style to his illustrations in Lindsay Craig’s Farmyard Beat and Dancing Feet (2011, 2010), but the corrugated-looking collages that incorporate photographic elements are not as successful here. The details tend to get lost in all the texture. Still, the animal antics are priceless, and the boy’s transformation from joyful participant to disgruntled observer is easy to see.
All the fun of imagination without the mess of reality. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 17, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-316-09883-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
Though it is light on specific information about how and why teeth are lost, most children will enjoy relating to Bear in...
Wilson and Chapman continue this popular series that began with Bear Snores On (2002).
Bear has invited his friends for lunch, when “something wiggled, and it wobbled…something moved when he chewed! It was… / Bear’s / loose / tooth!” In full-bleed spreads with a palette dominated by blues and greens, Chapman ably portrays Bear’s concern over this dental dilemma as well as the genuine empathy and determination of his many animal friends when they try to help remove the tooth. On several pages Bear looks right at readers as he reacts to his predicament, bringing them immediately into the story. After Hare, Mouse, Wren, Owl, Badger and others all fail at prying it loose, Bear “used his tongue and…gave a little nudge” until it falls out. A fairy comes as Bear sleeps and leaves “blueberries where Bear’s tooth had been!” Wilson keeps young readers engaged with rhyming text that keeps the gentle action flowing.
Though it is light on specific information about how and why teeth are lost, most children will enjoy relating to Bear in his latest oh-so-cozy adventure. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4169-5855-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
Animated and educational.
A hare and a ground squirrel banter about the differences between related animals that are often confused for one another.
Jack is “no Flopsy, Mopsy, or Cottontail,” but a “H-A-R-E, hare!” Like sheep and goats, or turtles and tortoises, rabbits and hares may look similar, but hares are bigger, their fur changes color in the winter, and they are born with their eyes wide open. As the ground squirrel (not to be mistaken for a chipmunk (even though Jack cheekily calls it “Chippie”) and Jack engage in playful discussion about animals, a sneaky coyote prowls after them through the Sonoran Desert. This picture book conveys the full narrative in spirited, speech-bubbled dialogue set on expressive illustrations of talking animals. Dark outlines around the characters make their shapes pop against the softly blended colors of the desert backgrounds. Snappy back-and-forth paired with repetition and occasional rhyme enhances the story’s appeal as a read-aloud. As the story progresses, the colors of the sky shift from dawn to dusk, providing subtle, visual bookends for the narrative. One page of backmatter offers a quick guide to eight easily confused pairs, and a second turns a subsequent exploration of the book into a seek-and-find of 15 creatures (and one dessert) hidden in the desert. Unfortunately, while most of the creatures from the seek-and-find appear in poses that match the illustrations in the challenge, not all of them are consistently represented. (This book was reviewed digitally with 7-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 53.3% of actual size.)
Animated and educational. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-12506-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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