There is a snug irresistibility to Rave’s book, a modesty and economy that give it an immediately comforting, small-town feeling. A young fox decides to skip school—“foxes are clever enough already”—to sleep late and make plans for supper: chicken fricassee. (Forget that you won’t hear another mention of school; it has served its purpose as an attention-getter.) He visits the local henhouse, where he is invited inside, these being polite chickens, only to find that they all have colds. The chickens explain they won’t make good eating, what with the colds and all, and that the fox should come another day. Clever chickens—they keep up the ruse until they can catch a bus to the warm south. Not to be outdone, the fox finds a sausage sandwich next to a napping hunter, and that’ll do in a pinch. The author keeps everything lighthearted, and her boldly outlined illustrations work on readers like a charm, from their sophisticated colors to their strong narrative flow to the strange hen that busily whitewashes part of each page to show off the text against a bright backdrop. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7358-2295-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
The lifecycle of the frog is succinctly summarized in this easy reader for children reading at the late first-grade level. In just one or two sentences per page, Vern details the amazing metamorphosis of the frog from egg to tadpole to adult, even injecting a little humor despite the tight word count. (“Watch out fly! Mmmm!) Large, full-color photographs on white backgrounds clearly illustrate each phase of development. Without any mention of laying eggs or fertilization, the title might be a bit misleading, but the development from black dot egg to full-grown frog is fascinating. A simple chart of the three main lifecycle steps is also included. Lifecycles are part of the standard curriculum in the early elementary grades, and this will be a welcome addition to school and public libraries, both for its informational value and as an easy reader. (Nonfiction/easy reader. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-15-216304-2
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Green Light/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001
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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