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
Yes, the Pigeon has to go to school, and so do readers, and this book will surely ease the way.
All the typical worries and excuses kids have about school are filtered through Willems’ hysterical, bus-loving Pigeon.
Told mostly in speech balloons, the bird’s monologue will have kids (and their caregivers) in stitches at Pigeon’s excuses. From already knowing everything (except whatever question readers choose to provide in response to “Go ahead—ask me a question. / Any question!”) to fearing learning too much (“My head might pop off”), Pigeon’s imagination has run wild. Readers familiar with Pigeon will recognize the muted, matte backgrounds that show off the bird’s shenanigans so well. As in previous outings, Willems varies the size of the pigeon on the page to help communicate emotion, the bird teeny small on the double-page spread that illustrates the confession that “I’m… / scared.” And Pigeon’s eight-box rant about all the perils of school (“The unknown stresses me out, dude”) is marvelously followed by the realization (complete with lightbulb thought bubble) that school is the place for students to practice, with experts, all those skills they don’t yet have. But it is the ending that is so Willems, so Pigeon, and so perfect. Pigeon’s last question is “Well, HOW am I supposed to get there, anyway!?!” Readers will readily guess both the answer and Pigeon’s reaction.
Yes, the Pigeon has to go to school, and so do readers, and this book will surely ease the way. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-04645-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sweet and silly—good enough for Halloween
The barnyard animals love Halloween. Farmer Brown does not. Sounds like the perfect time for tricks and treats!
Since Farmer Brown wants nothing to do with the scary holiday, “he leaves a bowl of candy on the porch….draws the shades and locks the door.” Out in the barn, though, the party is just getting started. Saturated watercolors show Cow dressed as a skeleton, the chickens looking quite ghostly and the sheep donning witch hats. As field mice and cats arrive, creepy sounds begin. The “crunch, crunch, crunching” and the “creak, creak, creaking” lead to a “tap, tap, tapping.” Hearing them, Farmer Brown peeks out his window to investigate. Readers will chuckle and easily recognize “the dark creature standing beneath the trees.” The farmer, however, runs to his bedroom to pull the covers up over his head. Now the sounds repeat, as the figure comes closer. This time, though, the tapping is followed by a “quack, quack, quackle.” Wait—“Quackle??” Farmer Brown goes out to the porch to find the candy bowl gone and a note on the door announcing, “Halloween Party at the barn!” The chorus of onomatopoeic phrases throughout the briskly paced text guarantees an interactive read-aloud, though fans of Duck’s earlier outings will miss their satiric bite.
Sweet and silly—good enough for Halloween . (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-6553-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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