A yellow Labrador puppy ponders life as an adult dog.
As mother Sally gives him his morning wash, pup Fergus asks her what he should be when he grows up. She thinks for a moment before answering, "clean." This isn't a completely satisfying answer, so Fergus runs outside to ask his brothers and sisters, who are romping all over the yard. Understandably, they say "playful," without losing a beat in their mischief. Fergus asks terrier Buster, a slightly older dog, who replies "helpful." And in the park, Penelope the pampered poodle (surrounded by birds and butterflies) offers "charming." Bolt, a greyhound chasing a rabbit, stops long enough to suggest "quick." And Maggie the collie says "obedient," then demonstrates it by herding a flock of sheep. When he gets home, his friend Jester, a patchwork mutt, chooses "friendly." The confused Fergus worries to his mother that he can’t be all of these things at once. Resting next to him in their basket, she says all he really needs to be is "loved." McLean's story rolls with ease and simplicity, and the use of different text types for the various attributes that Fergus collects adds a level of fun. Her portraits of various dogs are particularly appealing, and her sunny palette is pleasing. A postscript page called "Next Steps" provides a helpful list of follow-up questions for parents and teachers.
Warm and affecting. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-60992-743-1
Page Count: 24
Publisher: QEB Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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BOOK REVIEW
What to do when you’re a prickly animal hankering for a hug? Why, find another misfit animal also searching for an embrace!
Sweet but “tricky to hug” little Hedgehog is down in the dumps. Wandering the forest, Hedgehog begs different animals for hugs, but each rejects them. Readers will giggle at their panicked excuses—an evasive squirrel must suddenly count its three measly acorns; a magpie begins a drawn-out song—but will also be indignant on poor hedgehog’s behalf. Hedgehog has the appealingly pink-cheeked softness typical of Dunbar’s art, and the gentle watercolors are nonthreatening, though she also captures the animals’ genuine concern about being poked. A wise owl counsels the dejected hedgehog that while the prickles may frighten some, “there’s someone for everyone.” That’s when Hedgehog spots a similarly lonely tortoise, rejected due to its “very hard” shell but perfectly matched for a spiky new friend. They race toward each other until the glorious meeting, marked with swoony peach swirls and overjoyed grins. At this point, readers flip the book to hear the same gloomy tale from the tortoise’s perspective until it again culminates in that joyous hug, a book turn that’s made a pleasure with thick creamy paper and solid binding.
Watching unlikely friends finally be as “happy as two someones can be” feels like being enveloped in your very own hug. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-571-34875-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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Only polar bears are allowed on Polar Bear Island, until Kirby, a friendly, creative penguin, arrives on the scene.
On the verso of the first double-page spread, large white lettering proclaims against an azure sky: “Polar Bear Island was peaceful and predictable. Parker, the mayor, planned to keep it that way.” Below, Parker—paint can in left paw—can be seen facing his sign: “Welcome to Polar Bear Island. No Others Allowed.” On the recto, Kirby floats into view on an ice floe, with hat, scarf, and overstuffed suitcase. When Kirby arrives, Parker grudgingly allows her an overnight stay. However, she soon proves her worth to the other bears; she has invented Flipper Slippers, which keep extremities warm and reverse from skates to snowshoes. Now Kirby is allowed to stay and help the bears make their own Flipper Slippers. When her family shows up with more inventions, Parker feels compelled to give them a week. (Presumably, the penguins have made the 12,430-mile-trip from the South Pole to the North Pole, characterized merely as “a long journey.”) A minor crisis permanently changes Parker’s attitudes about exclusivity. The text is accessible and good fun to read aloud. The weakness of the ostensible theme of granting welcome to newcomers lies in the fact that all the newcomers are immediately, obviously useful to the bears. The cartoonlike, scratchboard-ish graphics are lighthearted and full of anthropomorphic touches.
Good bedtime reading. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2870-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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