A delight.
Olive and Pekoe are very different dogs, but they are the best of friends.
The friendship between Olive, an old, small dog, and Pekoe, a lively, large puppy, is presented in four vignettes of the walks the two dogs take together. Illustrator Potter’s impressively expressive naïve-style watercolor, ink, and colored-pencil illustrations perfectly nuance author Davis’ witty text. In “Walk One,” Olive and Pekoe explore the woods, where “Pekoe adores playing with sticks” while “Olive prefers resting in the mud and grass.” The friendship theme is humorously underscored when Pekoe brings Olive a “good stick,” which Olive “just looks at…but she appreciates the gesture.” “Walk Two” finds the duo unhappily caught in a thunderstorm—and here, Potter’s illustrations relay atmosphere and dog expression with striking sophistication given their inherent simplicity. “Walk Three” features chipmunks, and “Walk Four,” a canine bully. Each story contrasts, with a light, dryly humorous touch, the behavior of the elder, experienced Olive and the younger, enthusiastic Pekoe; and in each the theme of friendship is presented in a fresh, nonsaccharine way. Davis uses large words to convey the feelings of Olive (“Olive isn’t overly concerned about the chipmunk’s whereabouts”), but it fits the droll tone. The layout is consistent, presenting a full-page illustration opposite a page of text from spread to spread—until the final page, where the words and illustration are presented together; this clever design visually and textually summarizes the story’s theme of friendship’s togetherness.
A delight. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-257310-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Yes, the Pigeon has to go to school, and so do readers, and this book will surely ease the way.
All the typical worries and excuses kids have about school are filtered through Willems’ hysterical, bus-loving Pigeon.
Told mostly in speech balloons, the bird’s monologue will have kids (and their caregivers) in stitches at Pigeon’s excuses. From already knowing everything (except whatever question readers choose to provide in response to “Go ahead—ask me a question. / Any question!”) to fearing learning too much (“My head might pop off”), Pigeon’s imagination has run wild. Readers familiar with Pigeon will recognize the muted, matte backgrounds that show off the bird’s shenanigans so well. As in previous outings, Willems varies the size of the pigeon on the page to help communicate emotion, the bird teeny small on the double-page spread that illustrates the confession that “I’m… / scared.” And Pigeon’s eight-box rant about all the perils of school (“The unknown stresses me out, dude”) is marvelously followed by the realization (complete with lightbulb thought bubble) that school is the place for students to practice, with experts, all those skills they don’t yet have. But it is the ending that is so Willems, so Pigeon, and so perfect. Pigeon’s last question is “Well, HOW am I supposed to get there, anyway!?!” Readers will readily guess both the answer and Pigeon’s reaction.
Yes, the Pigeon has to go to school, and so do readers, and this book will surely ease the way. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-04645-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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