An attractive title for the nature shelf and storytime.
An alert child gets to know a ruby-throated hummingbird.
From spring to fall, the young narrator, tan-skinned with tousled brown curls, records observations in rhyming couplets addressed to the animal. These rhymes are complemented by factual descriptions, differentiated from the verse by typeface and font. The text is set directly on Trapani’s paintings, which accurately depict the male ruby-throated hummingbird (young and green, and with red hues as an adult) and its drabber green mother. The bird’s tiny size is emphasized in scenes that show him dwarfed by flowers, a feeder, and the child. The clothing the young narrator wears demonstrates the passing of the seasons from spring to summer to fall. Some of the child’s commentary comes from observation (how the bird flies, his “bitty wings,” his feeding habits) and some from a book—nesting behavior, in particular. As summer comes to a close, the hummingbird seems to say goodbye—a moment based on personal experience, Trapani notes in an afterword. The child can only imagine the bird’s long migration over water and the relief of his arrival at his warm winter home. The tone is gentle and admiring, the facts are accurate and sensibly selected for younger readers or listeners, and the lines scan comfortably for a read-aloud.
An attractive title for the nature shelf and storytime. (recommended books and websites) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781623545840
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
A solid addition to Rotner’s seasonal series. Bring on summer.
Rotner follows up her celebrations of spring and autumn with this look at all things winter.
Beginning with the signs that winter is coming—bare trees, shorter days, colder temperatures—Rotner eases readers into the season. People light fires and sing songs on the solstice, trees and plants stop growing, and shadows grow long. Ice starts to form on bodies of water and windows. When the snow flies, the fun begins—bundle up and then build forts, make snowballs and snowmen (with eyebrows!), sled, ski (nordic is pictured), skate, snowshoe, snowboard, drink hot chocolate. Animals adapt to the cold as well. “Birds grow more feathers” (there’s nothing about fluffing and air insulation) and mammals, more hair. They have to search for food, and Rotner discusses how many make or find shelter, slow down, hibernate, or go underground or underwater to stay warm. One page talks about celebrating holidays with lights and decorations. The photos show a lit menorah, an outdoor deciduous tree covered in huge Christmas bulbs, a girl next to a Chinese dragon head, a boy with lit luminarias, and some fireworks. The final spread shows signs of the season’s shift to spring. Rotner’s photos, as always, are a big draw. The children are a marvelous mix of cultures and races, and all show their clear delight with winter.
A solid addition to Rotner’s seasonal series. Bring on summer. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3976-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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