Absolutely delightful, especially for dog lovers and Francophiles.
An expatriate dog in Paris meets a young stray and helps him search for home in this series picture book.
Hudson, a Norwich terrier, relocated to France from America with his owner. Since then, he’s become fluent in French and familiar with what the great city has to offer. One day, he enjoys a warm baguette, sees a movie, and visits the botanical gardens. He’s followed by a dachshund puppy who’s too young or too scared to answer questions, such as “Are you lost?” Hudson volunteers to help the pup by taking him all around the city, hoping he’ll recognize his neighborhood. Hudson then tries giving the young canine away, but no one wants him. Finally, Hudson asks his owner to adopt the stray. Happily, she does, and the puppy—dubbed “Pierre”—joins Hudson in his explorations. Mancuso (Hudson in Provence, 2015, etc.) illustrates Hudson’s adventures with beautiful, full-page gouache paintings that vividly capture the bustle of Paris: not just expected landmarks, such as the Métro, but also, for example, the graffiti-covered walls of the Maison de Serge Gainsbourg. Cinematic references (Jacques Tati, Charlie Chaplin) will appeal to cinephiles. Hudson’s concern for the puppy is touching but never overdone. A glossary offers pronunciations and definitions for French words.
Absolutely delightful, especially for dog lovers and Francophiles.Pub Date: April 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9886058-5-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: La Librairie Parisienne
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The greeting-card art and jokey rhymes work for the baby-shower market but not for the youngest readers.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring through rhymed puns and sentimental art.
The title sets the scene for what’s to come: The owl asks the owlet as they fly together, “WHOO loves you?”; the kangaroo and joey make each other “very HOPPY”; and the lioness and cub are a “PURRRFECT pair.” Most of the puns are both unimaginative and groanworthy, and they are likely to go over the heads of toddlers, who are not know for their wordplay abilities. The text is set in abcb quatrains split over two double-page spreads. On each spread, one couplet appears on the verso within a lightly decorated border on pastel pages. On the recto, a full-bleed portrait of the animal and baby appears in softly colored and cozy images. Hearts are prominent on every page, floating between the parent and baby as if it is necessary to show the love between each pair. Although these critters are depicted in mistily conceived natural habitats and are unclothed, they are human stand-ins through and through.
The greeting-card art and jokey rhymes work for the baby-shower market but not for the youngest readers. (Board book. 6 mos-2)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-1374-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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