It’s rare to find a real story in a book that brand-new readers can tackle alone—Anna and Toto and the cowboy certainly...
In this German import, Little Anna and her dog have an adventure at the beach.
Anna loves her dog, Toto. When she takes him to the beach, Toto’s scarf matches Anna’s skirt and kerchief: red with white polka dots. As Anna heads toward the water, she passes “a boy in a very silly cowboy hat.” Readers may feel that Anna is a bit silly herself. Toto is not a live dog but a wooden Dalmatian on wheels that must be pulled by a rope. When Toto “learns to swim,” he’s dragged out to the deep water by a wave, and Anna is bereft. Luckily, that silly cowboy has more than a hat with him, and Toto is saved, opening the way to friendship. Saturated digital illustrations have a hand-drawn feel that creates a warm, homey atmosphere. The droll storyline respects the young readers who will no doubt chuckle when Toto is subtly revealed to be a beloved toy rather than a real pup. Even the cowboy, whose body and rope are hidden behind the grown-up beachgoers, is a pleasant surprise. His eyes might be concealed beneath that enormous hat, but his good spirit is clear.
It’s rare to find a real story in a book that brand-new readers can tackle alone—Anna and Toto and the cowboy certainly deliver. (Early reader. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3202-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Children who love dogs will find this amusing the first time through, but the humor palls quickly.
In rhyming text, a bug-eyed pug named Pig stubbornly refuses to share with the almost equally bug-eyed Trevor, the “wiener dog” he lives with—and soon gets his comeuppance.
The book begins showing the eponymous dog astride a large, red bowl of dog food, tongue hanging out and all four paws gripping the bowl. It perfectly matches the text: “Pig was a Pug / and I’m sorry to say, / he was greedy and selfish / in most every way.” A bit of humor comes through when the text plays on the adage about pigs by reminding readers that “pugs cannot fly.” However, most of the text is composed of trite, tired rhymes. The ending is a punch line whose funny picture will have little ones giggling. However, the ultimate “lesson” is a rather dark cynicism, more appropriate to children older than the age suggested by the rhymes, the art, and even the publisher. There may be some vicarious thrills for those who have witnessed excessive selfishness. The artwork is humorous, although Pig’s appearance is sometimes more grotesque than funny—particularly when he shouts at Trevor. Both male dogs’ facial expressions and body language add to the humor, and dog lovers will appreciate Pig’s array of colorful toys. Scansion is spotty, which should not happen in verses so dependent on rhythm and rhyme to entertain their young audience.
Children who love dogs will find this amusing the first time through, but the humor palls quickly. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Dec. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-338-11245-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Affirming and welcome.
A picture-book celebration of individuality and diversity.
Heling and Hembrook’s text opens with the lines, “In all the world over, / this much is true: / You’re somebody special. / There’s only one you.” The art depicts a white-appearing child with red pigtails, first on the floor, drawing, beside a big dog, then getting dressed as the dog sits on the bed and a woman, also white, peeks in. The next scene depicted in the digital, cartoon-style art shows the child hugging the woman and about to get on a school bus with a gaggle of diverse children with varying skin tones, hair textures and colors, and visible disabilities (one child wears a hearing aid, another wears glasses, a third uses a forearm crutch, and a fourth uses a wheelchair). As the rhyming text continues, it celebrates the diversity of these children not just in terms of their identities, but by commenting on their personalities, their talents, and ultimately their families. At book’s end, the first child is revealed to have two moms when they both pick her up at the end of the school day, the family dog in tow. “Families are families, / but soon you will find / that each can be different— / a ‘best for them’ kind,” reads the accompanying, inclusive text.
Affirming and welcome. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2292-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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