A crunchy debut with an unnerving surprise at the bottom of the bowl.
A messy eater finds a perfect companion…or maybe not.
In what plays as a buoyant tale of togetherness that takes a decidedly dark turn toward the end, a child searches for an animal companion who can clean up the astonishing messes she makes as she continually chows down on breakfast cereal. Unfortunately, the dog and the goat can’t keep up; the cat and the pony have agendas of their own; and as for the elephant: “so close!...but too big” (to fit in the house, that is). But then she meets a pig, a pig with a seemingly boundless appetite not just for spilled cereal, but for the boxes too. In no time the two become inseparable, and the young gourmand has delightedly decided that “this pig was perfecto.” Serafino tells the tale in a few big, pithy phrases and single words accompanying cartoon views of his light-skinned, brown-haired child eagerly digging in, exuberantly spraying the vicinity with pops and crunchies of diverse hue, natural and otherwise, out of generic, unlabeled cartons. But then the cornflake suddenly turns, with a view of the cheery porker hoovering up not only the grain-based spillage, but the floor and other background scenery too—and indeed, going on to swallow the previous pages and the girl herself…before turning, ominously, on the final page toward readers. Maybe not so perfecto.
A crunchy debut with an unnerving surprise at the bottom of the bowl. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-51466-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
An effective early chapter book conveyed in a slightly overdone gag.
Epistolary dispatches from the eternal canine/feline feud.
Simon the cat is angry. He had done a good job taking care of his boy, Andy, but now that Andy’s parents are divorced, a dog named Baxter has moved into Andy’s dad’s house. Simon believes that there isn’t enough room in Andy’s life for two furry friends, so he uses the power of the pen to get Baxter to move out. Inventively for the early-chapter-book format, the story is told in letters written back and forth; Simon’s are impeccably spelled on personalized stationery while Baxter’s spelling slowly improves through the letters he scrawls on scraps of paper. A few other animals make appearances—a puffy-lipped goldfish who for some reason punctuates her letter with “Blub…blub…” seems to be the only female character (cued through stereotypical use of eyelashes and red lipstick), and a mustachioed snail ferries the mail to and fro. White-appearing Andy is seen playing with both animals as a visual background to the text, as is his friend Noah (a dark-skinned child who perhaps should not be nicknamed “N Man”). Cat lovers will appreciate Simon’s prickliness while dog aficionados will likely enjoy Baxter’s obtuse enthusiasm, and all readers will learn about the time and patience it takes to overcome conflict and jealousy with someone you dislike.
An effective early chapter book conveyed in a slightly overdone gag. (Fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: May 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4492-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Silly reads for new readers to dig into.
A turnip-loving duck and its friends defend their garden.
Alas, the duck, sheep, dog, and donkey immediately discover the eponymous pest in the garden when it (a groundhog?) eats a row of beans. The duck is frantic that turnips are next, but instead the pest eats the sheep’s favorite crop: corn. Peas occupy the next row, and the pest gobbles them up, too. Instead of despairing, however, the donkey cries, “Yippee! He ate ALL THE PEAS!” and catching the others’ puzzled looks, continues, “I don’t like peas.” After this humorous twist, the only uneaten row is sown with turnips, and the duck leaps to devour them before the pest can do so. In a satisfying, funny conclusion, the duck beams when the dog, sheep, and donkey resolve to plant a new garden and protect it with a fence, only to find out that it will exclude not just the groundhog, but the duck, too. A companion release, What Is Chasing Duck?, has the same brand of humor and boldly outlined figures rendered in a bright palette, but its storyline doesn’t come together as well since it’s unclear why the duck is scared and why the squirrel that was chasing it doesn’t recognize the others when they turn and chase him at book’s end.
Silly reads for new readers to dig into. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: June 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-94165-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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