Readers will enjoy identifying the cold-weather creatures and their outstanding attributes.
Canadian animals frolic across the pages and through the letters of the alphabet.
Starting with an arctic fox and ending with a “griZZly” bear, Valério breezily moves through the ABCs. Some animals are accorded their very own double-page spreads, as in an eagle feeding its little ones. Some animals share their pages, as with the mother-chick pair of “Loons laughing on the lake” alongside a “magnificent mighty Moose.” A “quiet Quail” sits on the back of a “powerful playful Polar Bear.” There is also a trio of T’s: turtle, toad, and trout. Alphabet purists should note that along with stretching the concept of animal abecedarians with the letter Z, X is represented by both an “exuberant MuskoX” and an “exotic LynX” (otherwise known as a Canada lynx). Valério’s cut-paper collage illustrations are always lively and feature smiling critters on land, in the air, and on the water. For children learning their letters, clearly delineated uppercase and lowercase letters are featured. The alliterative text adds to the upbeat mood; four pages of backmatter reprise the alphabet with thumbnail illustrations and a few sentences of further information on each animal.
Readers will enjoy identifying the cold-weather creatures and their outstanding attributes. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77147-174-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
Roller-coaster enthusiasts or not, children will eagerly join our intrepid hero on this entertaining ride.
The Pigeon is on an emotional—and physical—roller coaster.
Since learning about the existence of roller coasters, he’s become giddy with excitement. The Pigeon prepares mentally: He’ll need a ticket and “exemplary patience” to wait in line. He envisions zooming up and down and careening through dizzying turns and loops. Then, he imagines his emotions afterward: exhilaration, post-ride blues, pride at having accomplished such a feat, and enthusiasm at the prospect of riding again. (He’ll also feel dizzy and nauseous.) All this before the Pigeon ever sets claw on an actual coaster. So…will he really try it? Are roller coasters fun? When the moment comes, everything seems to go according to plan: waiting in line, settling into the little car, THEN—off he goes! Though the ride itself isn’t quite what the Pigeon expected, it will delight readers. Wearing his feelings on his wing and speaking directly to the audience in first person, the Pigeon describes realistic thoughts and emotions about waiting and guessing about the unknown—common childhood experiences. No sentiment is misplaced; kids will relate to Pigeon’s eagerness and apprehension. The ending falls somewhat flat, but the whole humorous point is that an underwhelming adventure can still be thrilling enough to warrant repeating. Willems’ trademark droll illustrations will have readers giggling. The roller-coaster attendant is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Roller-coaster enthusiasts or not, children will eagerly join our intrepid hero on this entertaining ride. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4549-4686-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
“You’re finally here!” Bunny shouts; his excitement knows no bounds until he thinks to demand, “But where were you?” Testily, he lets readers know how long he’s been waiting and how totally bored he got (the bore-o-meter reads, “Bored up to my ears!!!”). Concerned they might be getting off on the wrong foot, he moves back to celebration! Until he asks, “But seriously, where were you?” and he lectures readers on unfairness…and lets them know how annoying it is to have to wait…and just how rude they’ve been. He’s willing to forgive and forget—if readers are willing to sign a contract stating they’ll stay “forever and ever.” Just as he starts to celebrate the signing of the contract, his cell phone rings. It’s a call he has to take; “hold that thought.... No, no, I'm not busy at all....” Watt introduces another saucy critter to the fourth-wall–breaking menagerie that includes her own Chester the cat and Mo Willems’ Pigeon and adds a pointed lecture on cell-phone etiquette to the book-about-a-book conceit. The computer-generated bunny is in-your-face, manga adorable, but as the page compositions largely consist of Bunny alternately glaring and grinning at readers against a wood-grained background and speech balloons, a certain tedium develops before the twist at the end. A good-but-not-great entry in the meta–picture-book genre. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4231-3486-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
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