It’s an enjoyable read-aloud, but it feels cast a little too closely in its predecessor’s mold and lacks the previous book’s...
Bunting and Ruzzier team up for another rollicking, rhyming search (Have You Seen My New Blue Socks?, 2013), this time for the owner of a lone shoe.
“There’s something in that tall bamboo. // Oh, my goodness! It’s a shoe! / Finders keepers? That’s not true. / I’ll find the owner of this shoe.” The shoe, a blue-and-yellow saddle shoe, dwarfs Mouse, but the rodent persists in its search, its polite manners drawing (somewhat didactic) comments from the animals it meets. It’s way too small for Tiger, too big for Spider, and useless for a bird that flies. It’s not one of Hippo’s four pairs, and Elephant only wears heels, for their slimming effect on ankles and legs. Finally, Kangaroo admits to chucking the painful new shoe and offers it to Mouse, who is quite pleased to have it…as a bed. The text and illustrations both evoke old-fashioned early readers (the morals and manners may seem old-fashioned to some as well), though their modern-day counterparts lack the challenging vocabulary: dainty, catastrophe, pursue, inquiring, inspiring, decline, astounded, considerate. Ruzzier’s pen, ink, and watercolor artwork uses spare details and white space to draw readers’ eyes.
It’s an enjoyable read-aloud, but it feels cast a little too closely in its predecessor’s mold and lacks the previous book’s freshness. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: June 2, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-544-30210-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
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 charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn.
A young owl achieves his grand ambition.
Owl, an adorably earnest and gallant little owlet, dreams of being a knight. He imagines himself defeating dragons and winning favor far and wide through his brave exploits. When a record number of knights go missing, Owl applies to Knight School and is surprisingly accepted. He is much smaller than the other knights-in-training, struggles to wield weapons, and has “a habit of nodding off during the day.” Nevertheless, he graduates and is assigned to the Knight Night Watch. While patrolling the castle walls one night, a hungry dragon shows up and Owl must use his wits to avoid meeting a terrible end. The result is both humorous and heartwarming, offering an affirmation of courage and clear thinking no matter one’s size…and demonstrating the power of a midnight snack. The story never directly addresses the question of the missing knights, but it is hinted that they became the dragon’s fodder, leaving readers to question Owl’s decision to befriend the beast. Humor is supplied by the characters’ facial expressions and accented by the fact that Owl is the only animal in his order of big, burly human knights. Denise’s accomplished digital illustrations—many of which are full bleeds—often use a warm sepia palette that evokes a feeling of antiquity, and some spreads feature a pleasing play of chiaroscuro that creates suspense and drama.
A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-31062-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
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