A crowd-pleasing, comical adventure with only brief moments of danger, told in child-friendly prose and accompanied by...
An Irish setter’s ocean mishap turns into a rescue by a dolphin and a lifeguard in this second children’s book series installment by author Dworkin and illustrator Chelich (The Dog and the Dolphin, 2014).
Red, who made friends with a dolphin in his previous adventure, is excited to go on a boat ride with his young owners, Henry and Theo. But when a storm kicks up, the journey back to shore becomes frightening—and then Red falls overboard. Luckily, Sophia, a lifeguard, is watching from shore, and she hops on her Jet Ski to rescue Red. And she’s not the only one on the way: Red’s dolphin friend aims to save the day as well. Young readers will love the idea of the dolphin giving Red a lift so that Sophia can raise him easily from the water. As she drives back to shore, beachgoers are entranced by what initially appears to be a dog driving the Jet Ski. One of the onlookers takes a photo, using his smartphone, before the dog’s owners reunite with him. The threat of the storm fades too quickly for it to feel as treacherous as it should, but the humorous situation of the dog on the Jet Ski will be comforting for young readers who prefer a less intense tale. Dworkin uses easily accessible vocabulary at a pace that will keep pre-K and kindergarten-age lap readers engaged, and he provides only a few challenges for independent readers in first through third grades (with words such as “struggling,” “churning,” and “bewildered”). Chelich’s realistic, painted illustrations will delight children, especially those that depict a dog wearing goggles. The diversity of the beachgoers is an especially nice touch, and Sophia makes an inspiring hero. Along with the dog and dolphin, many other photorealistic animals appear in frameworthy illustrations, including a sea turtle, an octopus, a crab, and numerous fish and seabirds.
A crowd-pleasing, comical adventure with only brief moments of danger, told in child-friendly prose and accompanied by gorgeous images.Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4808-3023-3
Page Count: -
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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