As Little Bear asks his Mama what she would do for a series of animal ailments, she answers him in rhyme while he draws a...
“Mama Bear, Mama Bear… / If you were a doctor / in charge of the zoo, / what would you do / if Gnu had the flu?”
As Little Bear asks his Mama what she would do for a series of animal ailments, she answers him in rhyme while he draws a huge picture with crayons of the cure. “If Chimp came to see me, / and his foot had a pain, / I’d tell him to walk / with a big candy cane.” Little Bear draws a dressed chimp complete with bowtie walking with a red-and-white striped cane. Other supposed problems are: What if Deer couldn’t hear, Meerkat got too fat; Fox got chicken pox; Goat had a sore throat; Weasel had measles. The speculation ends with Little Bear himself. She replies, “I’d puppet a story. / I’d tootle a tune. / I’d huff and I’d puff you / a big red balloon. / … I’d fix all your favorites— / cookies and soup— / and when you got better, / I’d let out a WHOOOOP!” The rhymes have some hiccups, but the rhythm carries the story. The appealing illustrations (made with art markers, colored pencils and crayons) accessorize Mama Bear’s doctor garb with stethoscope and pearls. Little Bear’s drawings are a clever device, especially as they’re exactly like child-drawn crayon drawings.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5951-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
There’s nothing especially new here, but the good-natured celebration of books, reading, and libraries will charm fellow...
A porcine hoarder of books learns to read—and to share.
The Book Hog’s obsession is clear from the start. Short declarative sentences describe his enthusiasm (“The Book Hog loved books”), catalog the things he likes about the printed page, and eventually reveal his embarrassing secret (“He didn’t know how to read”). While the text is straightforward, plenty of amusing visual details will entertain young listeners. A picture of the Book Hog thumbing through a book while seated on the toilet should induce some giggles. The allusive name of a local bookshop (“Wilbur’s”) as well as the covers of a variety of familiar and much-loved books (including some of the author’s own) offer plenty to pore over. And the fact that the titles become legible only after our hero learns to read is a particularly nice touch. A combination of vignettes, single-page illustrations and double-page spreads that feature Pizzoli’s characteristic style—heavy black outlines, a limited palette of mostly salmon and mint green, and simple shapes—move the plot along briskly. Librarians will appreciate the positive portrayal of Miss Olive, an elephant who welcomes the Book Hog warmly to storytime, though it’s unlikely most will be able to match her superlative level of service.
There’s nothing especially new here, but the good-natured celebration of books, reading, and libraries will charm fellow bibliophiles, and the author’s fans will enjoy making another anthropomorphic animal friend. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-03689-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity.
Buzz and his buzzy buddy open a spinoff series of nonfiction early readers with an aquarium visit.
Buzz: “Like other fish, sharks breathe through gills.” Fly Guy: “GILLZZ.” Thus do the two pop-eyed cartoon tour guides squire readers past a plethora of cramped but carefully labeled color photos depicting dozens of kinds of sharks in watery settings, along with close-ups of skin, teeth and other anatomical features. In the bite-sized blocks of narrative text, challenging vocabulary words like “carnivores” and “luminescence” come with pronunciation guides and lucid in-context definitions. Despite all the flashes of dentifrice and references to prey and smelling blood in the water, there is no actual gore or chowing down on display. Sharks are “so cool!” proclaims Buzz at last, striding out of the gift shop. “I can’t wait for our next field trip!” (That will be Fly Guy Presents: Space, scheduled for September 2013.)
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity. (Informational easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-50771-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
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