by Jane Chapman & illustrated by Jane Chapman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2004
You can judge this book by its cover. Precisely as promised, it is thickly packed with rhymes, songs, and a few well-told tales—25 in all. The cover painting of crows escaping from a pie is a perfect example of the fine artwork inside. This is a collection for the youngest set of story-lovers and lap-time snugglers. Each one is a classic, well-known and well-loved by generations with shorter versions like “Little Bo Peep,” which includes only the first verse and longer ones such as “Mary Had a Little Lamb” with four verses. Some tales offer a variation on the classic. In “The Three Little Pigs,” for instance, the third pig is a female and in the “Little Red Hen” she doesn’t have chicks with whom to share her bread. The compilation is generously illustrated in rich, warm tones on white with attention to detail without clutter. The characters, animal and human alike, are pudgy and benevolently expressive. From “Hey Diddle, Diddle” to “Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat,” this is a bountiful treasury of gems. (Anthology. 2-5)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-7636-2545-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2004
Share your opinion of this book
More by Karma Wilson
BOOK REVIEW
by Karma Wilson ; illustrated by Jane Chapman
BOOK REVIEW
by Karma Wilson ; illustrated by Jane Chapman
BOOK REVIEW
by Tim Tebow with A.J. Gregory & illustrated by Jane Chapman
by David Elliott & illustrated by Holly Meade ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2008
Energetic woodcuts accompany playfully simple poems as they give young readers an engaging tour of the barnyard. From the usual suspects—rooster, cow, sheep—to some of the less celebrated denizens of the farm—snake, bees, turtle—each poem varies to suit its subject. The barn cat’s verse is succinct: “Mice / had better / think twice.” The snake’s winds its way down the page in sinuous shape. At their best, Elliott’s images are unexpected and all the more lovely: The turtle “Lifts her fossil head / and blinks / one, two, three / times in the awful light.” Others are not so successful, but Meade’s illustrations give them credence: The rooster “Crows and struts. / He’s got feathers! / He’s got guts!” This rhythmic but rather opaque assertion is accompanied by an oversized rooster who dominates the foreground; eyes shut in concentration, he levitates himself with the force of his crow—the very embodiment of “guts.” Farmyard books are a dime a dozen, but this one is a worthwhile addition, for those poems that reach beyond the ordinary and for the good-natured illustrations that complement them. (Picture book/poetry. 2-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3322-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2008
Share your opinion of this book
More by David Elliott
BOOK REVIEW
by David Elliott ; illustrated by Ellen Rooney
BOOK REVIEW
by David Elliott ; illustrated by Amy Schimler-Safford
BOOK REVIEW
by David Elliott ; illustrated by Evan Turk
by Jeffrey Burton ; illustrated by Zoe Waring ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 28, 2019
Amiable if slight.
In a text that can be sung to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” a young dinosaur plays with other prehistoric friends and gets ready for bed.
In this companion piece to Twinkle, Twinkle Unicorn (2019), each double-page spread features a friendly, green theropod with rosy cheeks watching pink pterosaurs fly, using a sauropod’s tail as a sliding board, and watching volcanoes explode in the night sky. As the sun sets, the dinosaur yawns and heads back home to two larger dinosaurs, one pink with eyelashes and one blue without, who appear to be mama and papa dinosaur respectively (did color stereotyping based on gender exist 65 million years ago? And why isn’t the protagonist dinosaur mauve?). Waring has arguably created the most benign and affable dinosaurs possible, with their perpetual smiles, rounded horns and teeth, oversized eyes, and brightly colored hides. Weighing in at only a slight 16 pages, the book runs through two modified verses of the classic, and the first scans quite fluidly. The second stanza feels a little forced to make it fit into the bedtime theme: “Twinkle, twinkle dinosaur, / the day is done. / It’s time to snore.”
Amiable if slight. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: May 28, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3975-7
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More by Jeffrey Burton
BOOK REVIEW
by Jeffrey Burton ; illustrated by Juliana Motzko
BOOK REVIEW
by Jeffrey Burton ; illustrated by Alison Brown
BOOK REVIEW
by Jeffrey Burton ; illustrated by Sanja Rešček
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.