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 stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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