Hoo doesn’t love a sweet story about grandmas? (Picture book. 3-6)
A child fears the loss of his grandmother’s love.
Young barn owl Ollie gets a big surprise when Grandma introduces him to his new baby cousin, Lily. An even bigger—and unhappier—surprise is that Grandma seemingly loves the baby more and pays her lots more attention. Lily’s charming baby antics and attempts to play don’t persuade Ollie that she’s any fun. When Grandma continues to gush over her, cooing endearments Ollie thinks belong only to him, he’s stricken with jealousy at first. When snack time brings forth only half a cookie for each grandkid, that does it: Ollie breaks down in tears, convinced he doesn’t possess Grandma’s whole heart any longer. Grandma plausibly explains the meager portion. More importantly, she earnestly explains that a grandmother’s love never dims, helping Ollie feel better about himself and the infant. Youngsters dealing with a new sibling or new relative who appears to dominate the family landscape will feel Ollie’s pain here. They will be heartened by the tender, reassuring message that “When a new baby comes along, a grandma grows new love!” The endearing illustrations, rendered in soft browns, white, teal, and purple and featuring a lively trio of winsome, fluffy, and very expressive owls, are delightful and will capture readers’ attention and hearts.
Hoo doesn’t love a sweet story about grandmas? (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-042-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts.
A playful counting book also acts as a celebration of family and human diversity.
Shannon’s text is delivered in spare, rhythmic, lilting verse that begins with one and counts up to 10 as it presents different groupings of things and people in individual families, always emphasizing the unitary nature of each combination. “One is six. One line of laundry. One butterfly’s legs. One family.” Gomez’s richly colored pictures clarify and expand on all that the text lists: For “six,” a picture showing six members of a multigenerational family of color includes a line of laundry with six items hanging from it outside of their windows, as well as the painting of a six-legged butterfly that a child in the family is creating. While text never directs the art to depict diverse individuals and family constellations, Gomez does just this in her illustrations. Interracial families are included, as are depictions of men with their arms around each other, and a Sikh man wearing a turban. This inclusive spirit supports the text’s culminating assertion that “One is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family.”
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-374-30003-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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