Though he earns a stint in the doghouse, this little dog is one endearing pet.
A pup nudges the door open and digs up his owner's yard, then brings the mess of the outdoors (and his cherished bone) into the house. Active, two-word phrases, feature the word “up” in each statement to convey the dog's adventures and the consequences: "dig up / drag up / muddy up…" A few expressions may stretch the audience; “clip up” portrays the downtrodden dog on a leash (the muddy evidence of his outdoor romp streaked through his fur). The next sequence depicts the owner's actions when he cleans the mess. “Now wipe up / gather up / wash up / hang up / fill up” precedes the dog’s "perk[ing] up." Fanny depicts the loving (though exasperated) owner as, mostly, disembodied hands, ensuring that the perspective remains the dog's. The dog’s expressive eyes and slight shifts in his physical appearance light up his scenes. Companion Up Cat briefly reintroduces the dog; he attempts to make friends with a haughty feline, though she “puff[s] up” at the offer. This little pooch’s up-and-down antics charm. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)
Pub Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-55451-389-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Annick Press
Review Posted Online: May 29, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver.
The farmyard's chickens experience Halloween.
A round, full moon shines in the sky, and the chickens of Boynton's barnyard are feeling “nervous.” Pumpkins shine “with flickering eyes,” witches and wizards wander the pastures, and one chicken has seen “a mouse of enormous size.” It’s Halloween night, and readers will delight as the chickens huddle together and try to figure out what's going on. All ends well, of course, and in Boynton's trademark silly style. (It’s really quite remarkable how her ranks of white, yellow-beaked chickens evoke rows of candy corn.) At this point parents and children know what they're in for when they pick up a book by the prolific author, and she doesn't disappoint here. The chickens are silly, the pigs are cute, and the coloring and illustrations evoke a warmth that little ones wary of Halloween will appreciate. For children leery of the ghouls and goblins lurking in the holiday's iconography, this is a perfect antidote, emphasizing all the fun Halloween has to offer.
An excellent, rounded effort from a creator who knows how to deliver. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7611-9300-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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