More Toy Story than Corduroy, a satisfying tale of unexpected friendship.
The stuffed bear, welcomed by the dog, insists it is “a fancy kids’ toy with lots of pockets,” and indeed the vest it wears is festooned with them. It is not meant to be a disgusting, chewed, and torn-up dog toy. After being ignored by the little girl one too many times, the bear is eventually thrown into “the wedge” between her bed and the wall to join her other discards. The bear finally relents, giving in to the dog’s persistent cajoling to play and ultimately have lots of fun as a dog toy. Black-outlined cartoons of a scruffy, floppy-eared mutt and a smug brown bear dressed in a utility vest expand on the dialogue-only narrative. The text does not use speech balloons to attribute the dialogue but rather a different typeface for the various characters. Empathy for the bear builds as the girl’s callous actions continue. Choosing friends can be a tricky road to follow in life and rejection a difficult reality to accept. Readers will cheer when the dog’s boundless exuberance eventually counters the girl’s incessant dismissal to create a satisfying bond, and dog lovers will certainly appreciate the sentiments behind the dog’s role in the story. The girl, the only human in the story, is a child of color. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 50% of actual size.)
More Toy Story than Corduroy, a satisfying tale of unexpected friendship. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11901-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity.
Buzz and his buzzy buddy open a spinoff series of nonfiction early readers with an aquarium visit.
Buzz: “Like other fish, sharks breathe through gills.” Fly Guy: “GILLZZ.” Thus do the two pop-eyed cartoon tour guides squire readers past a plethora of cramped but carefully labeled color photos depicting dozens of kinds of sharks in watery settings, along with close-ups of skin, teeth and other anatomical features. In the bite-sized blocks of narrative text, challenging vocabulary words like “carnivores” and “luminescence” come with pronunciation guides and lucid in-context definitions. Despite all the flashes of dentifrice and references to prey and smelling blood in the water, there is no actual gore or chowing down on display. Sharks are “so cool!” proclaims Buzz at last, striding out of the gift shop. “I can’t wait for our next field trip!” (That will be Fly Guy Presents: Space, scheduled for September 2013.)
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity. (Informational easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-50771-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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