Delightful, surprising, and all in good fun.
What is Fox planning?
Fox is carefully monitoring eight little chicks. “Fox is coming! / Hide away.” And off they go. Before setting off after them, the sly fox ties a kerchief onto a stick, perhaps to hold captured chicks. Trying to outwit the fox, the chicks run and flap throughout the farm, hiding in any place that might provide safety, or at least a temporary respite: maybe nestled among the large tree roots, in a hollow log, in the tin cans strewn around a foraging goat, or even among pigs in a muddy hole. All the while, the other farm animals look on benignly. But wherever the chicks run, the fox is not far behind, eagerly grabbing one or two of them at a time and placing them in that kerchief. Told in simple rhyming couplets, the tale will have youngsters following along with breathless anticipation as the desperate chicks careen around the farm in very bright, colorful, sharply defined illustrations, sometimes in wide angle, sometimes close up. The overall-clad fox’s expressions are by turns thoughtful, intense, and triumphant but never overtly menacing. When all the chicks are in the bag, the story comes to an unexpected, reassuring twist. The book is essentially a reworking of Kulka’s earlier work, Wolf’s Coming (2007), with co-author Patterson joining in as part of his recent series of collaborations.
Delightful, surprising, and all in good fun. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9780316572835
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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