Snappy images and jazzy rhymes make this a delight to read aloud.
What would life be like with a toothy green reptile for a pet?
With this series installment, the creative team is in fine form as the series’ star, a small Black child in a blue dress and signature curled-brim hat, considers the advantages of a crocodile companion. There’s nothing wrong with fish or birds, but the child aims for a pet “with lots and lots of style”—like a croc. Crocodiles are “jazzy,” so at school the child and the croc will “practice clarinet”—though the svelte reptile appears to be playing percussion on his own scaly spine—in the “Count Snappy Quintet.” The crocodile gamely allows his elongated snout to serve as a playground slide and ferries children in pirate costumes on a small pond. Child and pet pose at the ballet barre and dine out, after which the child has to deal with cleaning up croc droppings. As the child uses an industrial scrubber to brush the croc’s choppers, their parents (one brown-skinned, one slightly lighter-skinned) hover approvingly in the doorway. The rhyming and rhythm are irresistible, ideal for storytime, with plenty of fun vocabulary (pizzazz, fangs). The child’s friends are diverse. Strikingly composed illustrations are as important as words. The game of snap leads to a punning image of jaws and cards. Warm closure replaces a final narrative surprise, and the penultimate illustration is the cleverest, incorporating references to other images in this book and to other titles in the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Snappy images and jazzy rhymes make this a delight to read aloud. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9780500653050
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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