by George Ella Lyon & Benn Lyon ; illustrated by Mick Wiggins ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2015
Young navigation enthusiasts, from bathtub ships’ captains to ocean-cruiser wannabes, will enjoy this voyage.
Ahoy, maties!
As in her Trucks Roll! (2007) and Planes Fly! (2013), Lyon and her co-author celebrate a ubiquitous, well-loved form of transport in verse and launch it along on young readers’ imaginations. Numerous boats of all kinds and sizes, from different cultures and parts of the world and used for a variety of purposes, including play and habitation, are introduced here. Young readers will be awash in vessels plying waterways from rivers to lakes, ponds to bathtubs, and pools to oceans. Front and back endpapers feature a floating parade, and the colorful digital illustrations of the various boats and their environs showcase many shades of watery blue and exude spirited energy. The staunchest of landlubbers will yearn to set sail; one can almost hear the gently lapping waves. Overall, the verses are jaunty, though the rhymes and rhythms are inconsistent, sometimes even a bit clunky. Children will appreciate learning nifty new seafaring terms such as “poop deck,” “head,” “bilibilis,” “wherries,” “coracles,” and “dinghies,” all italicized in the text, as they picture themselves at the helm of any of the boats floating on these pages. In some illustrations, however, it’s not always clear to which boats certain terms refer, so parental sailing expertise may be required.
Young navigation enthusiasts, from bathtub ships’ captains to ocean-cruiser wannabes, will enjoy this voyage. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-0380-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
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by Erin Guendelsberger ; illustrated by Annelouise Mahoney ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024
Only for kids who really, really want to look at pictures of tractors.
A purple tractor discovers his purpose.
“Deep in farm country…Purple Tractor had a comfortable home and loving parents, but he was unhappy.” The other tractors—orange, red, and blue—make fun of him because of his inability to perform farm-related chores. He finds comfort talking with Brown Truck, who’s lived on the farm longer than any other vehicle and tells stories about the old days. Brown Truck has the perfect job for Purple Tractor: working on a construction site. Purple Tractor heads to a construction site with Brown Truck and enjoys the work. His fellow farm tractors start to feel threatened by his new sense of self, but once he saves the day after a severe weather event, he eventually finds his place in both worlds. Exhaustingly long blocks of text are paired with static illustrations of pastoral and urban scenes. While heavy machinery is often an automatic hit with young children, this one will have a hard time finding an appreciative audience. The story is wordy, with a leaden sentimentality that comes from painstakingly explaining what lessons readers should be taking away. The heroism in this Little Heroes, Big Hearts series leaves a lot to be desired.
Only for kids who really, really want to look at pictures of tractors. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781728278315
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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by Erin Guendelsberger ; illustrated by Gail Yerrill
by Steve Light & illustrated by Steve Light ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 9, 2012
Flighty fun.
Zephyr, a buoyant, gum-chewing lass obsessed with airplanes, achieves a fantastical flight—and gets home in time for breakfast—in this enjoyable romp.
Grandma, Daddy and Mom are all too busy to play. Executing her “triple loop-de-loop spectacular” off the couch with her toy plane, she crashes into a cabinet full of bric-a-brac. Banished to her room, she sends a paper airplane behind her dresser. There, she discovers a small door leading into a “wondrous place” full of flying machines and propellers and with a desk full of books and maps. Climbing aboard the “FS Bessie” (Light’s nod to pioneering flyer Bessie Coleman), Zephyr’s off. “Her triple loop-de-loop spectacular was much more fun in the sky!” Ensuing spreads depict a harmless “BUMP” into a mountainous land where flying pigs dwell in trees. After the dexterous girl fashions paper wings for a flightless piglet, the porcine fliers help power her craft back into the sky. Light’s fountain pens produce boldly inked contours and appealingly frenetic gestural line. Colored pencils and PanPastels in sienna, ochre and yellow effect a mood both sunny and old-timey. Observant readers will note images of Zephyr’s aviator grandfather throughout—clearly, her zeal for flight is inherited. (Flying pigs are a favored collectible in her family, too.) Zipping from fanciful flight to a “triple-hug, triple-pancake spectacular,” Zephyr’s surely not earthbound for long.
Flighty fun. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5695-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
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