Erie Canal," "Froggie Went A-Courtin'," and "The Animal Fair" are among the more familiar of the almost 100 traditional and folk-type animal songs included here. The age of the songs ranges from "Ho, Ho, to the Greenwood" and "Three Ravens," set down in the 1600's, to the less than 30-year-old "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," and the tone varies from Stephen Foster's "Old Dog Tray" to the campers' favorite "Be Kind to Your Webfooted Friends." Peter Parnall's drawings are consistently fresh and amusing.
Pub Date: March 1, 1972
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1972
A sweet and endearing feathered migration.
A relationship between a Latina grandmother and her mixed-race granddaughter serves as the frame to depict the ruby-throated hummingbird migration pattern.
In Granny’s lap, a girl is encouraged to “keep still” as the intergenerational pair awaits the ruby-throated hummingbirds with bowls of water in their hands. But like the granddaughter, the tz’unun—“the word for hummingbird in several [Latin American] languages”—must soon fly north. Over the next several double-page spreads, readers follow the ruby-throated hummingbird’s migration pattern from Central America and Mexico through the United States all the way to Canada. Davies metaphorically reunites the granddaughter and grandmother when “a visitor from Granny’s garden” crosses paths with the girl in New York City. Ray provides delicately hashed lines in the illustrations that bring the hummingbirds’ erratic flight pattern to life as they travel north. The watercolor palette is injected with vibrancy by the addition of gold ink, mirroring the hummingbirds’ flashing feathers in the slants of light. The story is supplemented by notes on different pages with facts about the birds such as their nest size, diet, and flight schedule. In addition, a note about ruby-throated hummingbirds supplies readers with detailed information on how ornithologists study and keep track of these birds.
A sweet and endearing feathered migration. (bibliography, index) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0538-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
Not the duo’s best, but fans will enjoy the effort.
“There was an old scientist who swallowed a dinosaur. / I don’t know why she swallowed a dinosaur, but she went to explore.”
She swallows a fern to feed the saurian, then a rock and a pick and a dustpan. In between the old scientist’s gastronomical feats, two children, one tan-skinned and one light-skinned—ask each other questions or spout facts about dinosaurs and paleontology. “Fossils are rocks containing traces of the past.” “Evidence of plants and animals built to last!” The book, the latest of Colandro’s many takes on the “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” song, closes with the old scientist, the kids, and the dinosaurs visiting a museum of natural history. With a rhyme scheme that is often as strained as the conceit of the voracious old lady, Colandro makes another foray into nonfiction that is relatively light on facts (previous titles have explored holidays, the seasons, astronomy, and undersea life). Lee is again along to offer his signature bug-eyed and scribbly illustrations that can be a bit unnerving at times. The children’s rhyming banter in speech bubbles interrupts the old lady patter, making the whole at once familiar and clunky. Paleo facts and a scavenger hunt at the end might add to the instruction and the fun respectively. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not the duo’s best, but fans will enjoy the effort. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: May 3, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-66840-7
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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