An inventive, mild adventure for young storytellers and monarchs; for maps and information, look elsewhere.
A child and their stuffed animals play a geography-focused imagination game.
In Okunev’s debut children’s book, translated by Kolmakov, our nameless narrator’s multitudinous stuffed animals find a world atlas and insist on international travel—but instead, their child proposes that they study the principles of geography indoors. Walls become mountains, the rug becomes a stadium, the kitchen becomes a farm, and the parents’ bedroom becomes the “financial center” of the country. Illustrators Kolmakov and Baron alternate gentle pencil-and-watercolor paintings in soft pastels with more cartoonish acrylic-on-canvas paintings in bright colors. In the style of Winnie-the-Pooh or Raggedy Ann, the protagonist’s benevolent commands and explanations are taken in good faith by the toys; this fantasy of authority may appeal to young readers interested in exerting agency. While each stuffed animal has a personality (Little Hedgehog is sensitive; Owl is wise), the huge array of toys—crocodile, raccoon, monkey, shark, penguin, lion, elephant, rhino, turtle—prevents readers from getting to know any characters well. The author, a geographer, wrote about his field for adults in his recent book Political Geography (2020). He brings that knowledge and passion to bear here; however, introductory ideas about geography's purpose may need a clearer, more child-friendly approach. A few maps of the apartment and the characters’ neighborhood rendered from a bird’s-eye view occur throughout, but there are no maps of real places or vocabulary terms that might help youngsters read their own atlases. Prompts between chapters are oriented toward creativity: “How is your kingdom organized? Where do your toys live and what do they do?”
An inventive, mild adventure for young storytellers and monarchs; for maps and information, look elsewhere.Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-66290-281-9
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Quirky, unexpected fun.
From the Geisel Award–winning team behind See the Cat (2020) comes another surprising, amusing, and educational treat for beginning readers.
With a “One…two…three,” an unseen narrator tells light-skinned Jack, brown-skinned Jill, and Rex the smiling pooch to “Go and Get” objects beginning with a given letter. Rex (less excitable than Max, the previous series’ star) wordlessly woofs but is revealed to be cleverer than readers might initially assume. For the letter F, the kids bring a “FROG” and a “FISH,” but Rex brings a duck…who is quickly revealed to be a “FRIEND.” For the letters S and M, Jill returns with a “SKUNK” and a “MOOSE,” while Rex persists with ducks—who slyly turn out to fulfill the requirements (a pair of “SISTERS” and a group of “MUSICIANS”). Finally, it’s time for the letter D! While Jack rides in on a “DINOSAUR in a DRESS with a DRUM,” and Jill produces a “DRAGON at a DESK drawing a DAISY,” Rex is empty-handed. The narrator is “disappointed,” until a few woofs convey that Rex is, of course, a “DOG.” Expert pacing enhances the humor. Expressive cartoons highlight the deadpan moment before the narrator (and readers) catch on to Rex’s unexpected wins, and a final spread features many D-related words.
Quirky, unexpected fun. (Early reader. 4-7)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781536222067
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Bow-WOW! Who needs 100 dogs when just one cuddly, fluffy, perfect pup will do?
A girl uses cunning to get exactly what she wants.
“I want 100 dogs,” the child muses. Her nonplussed parents raise a practical question: “Where would 100 dogs sleep?” Their daughter has a ready answer: “My 100 dogs will sleep on my bed.” Parents: “More likely, 100 dogs would sleep on you.” Reconsidering, the girl asks for 90 dogs. But how will she walk them? After all, 90 dogs would walk her. And so it goes, with the child subsequently decreasing her request by 10 each time and her parents asking realistic questions about that quantity, listening to her responses, then explaining why her plans still won’t work. Examples: 70 dogs need lots of food; grooming 30 dogs would be very messy; and—unhappiest prospect—guess who’d clean up after 10 dogs “go number 2”? Finally, the child “settles” for just one and chooses a floppy-eared pooch at a shelter. Her parents can’t believe they talked her out of 100 dogs; the girl can’t believe she talked her parents into getting one—clearly, her plan all along. This is a humorous, imaginative tale with a comically ironic ending; the child-parent relationship is close, warm, and playful. There’s good counting-backward-by-10s practice here, too. The digital illustrations are funny, with each parental question and the girl’s responses vividly, dynamically portrayed. The gap-toothed daughter and both parents are tan-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Bow-WOW! Who needs 100 dogs when just one cuddly, fluffy, perfect pup will do? (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2023
ISBN: 9781797214405
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
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