A weighty parable honoring the natural world, visually stunning but likely to leave youngsters cold.
A boy, saved by a panda mother and blessed by the forest, outwits a group of trappers who have captured the panda’s child.
Dreamy watercolors and narrative in verse tell the story of a baby boy who goes missing in a forest in what appears to be China. When he is found seven days later in a panda’s cave, villagers regard both panda and boy with great reverence, as the panda clearly kept him alive. Nine years later, a group of strangers arrives with horses, elephants, brocade and furs, and animals, including a baby panda in a bamboo cage—all gifts for “the great ruler Alexander.” As the horrified villagers look on, the boy begs to accompany the travelers, telling them that he knows how to keep the panda alive for their journey. Assuming the boy has betrayed the pandas to whom he owes everything, the villagers turn away, but the clever boy has a plan. This large-format, fully illustrated book has the trim size of a picture book, but its three chapters of verse, sophisticated vocabulary, and extensive symbolism suggest an audience of older children or even adults; it may struggle to find an audience. Illustrations vacillate between dreamscapes and hyper-realistic human and animal figures, while tiger imagery included early on foreshadows later events. The work is imbued with respect for the natural world, along with a certain unease in the telling and the violence of the outcome.
A weighty parable honoring the natural world, visually stunning but likely to leave youngsters cold. (Picture book. 8-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781915659057
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Otter-Barry
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
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
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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