by Jean Reidy ; illustrated by Leo Timmers ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2016
The lively text supports the joy, but in this case, the delight is in the details.
An animal construction crew works each day of the week to complete a fun surprise for the neighborhood.
Sunday is “Dream day! / Study, scribble, scheme day. / Map, measure, plan a treasure. / Gather up a team day!” A tiny mouse acts as crew boss, checking notes on a clipboard and happily shouting into a miniature bullhorn. The rest of the goggle-eyed crew can’t wait to get to work. On Monday, the diggers arrive (and the rhyming verse makes its only stumble). Timmers gleefully stretches the excavator’s cab to accommodate the giraffe’s long neck. Tuesday brings the road rollers—and skateboard, roller-skate, and unicycle rollers, too. A family of worms is displaced (with suitcases strapped to their backs)—but not to worry, they return in the end. Deliveries of brightly colored equipment roll in, while hammers swing and drills buzz. The construction site is booming all week. But what are they building? The final reveal is none too shocking, but it’s still fun to spot all of the animals who made appearances along the way (and see a fitting tribute to each construction animal who worked so hard).
The lively text supports the joy, but in this case, the delight is in the details. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61963-556-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
Share your opinion of this book
More by Jean Reidy
BOOK REVIEW
by Jean Reidy ; illustrated by Joey Chou
BOOK REVIEW
by Jean Reidy ; illustrated by Joey Chou
BOOK REVIEW
by Jean Reidy ; illustrated by Samantha Cotterill
by Christopher Silas Neal ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Share your opinion of this book
More by Jody Jensen Shaffer
BOOK REVIEW
by Jody Jensen Shaffer ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
BOOK REVIEW
by Jennifer Adams ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
BOOK REVIEW
by Kate Messner ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
by Sandra Magsamen ; illustrated by Sandra Magsamen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 4, 2018
So sweet it’ll have readers heading for their toothbrushes.
Another entry in the how-much-I-love-you genre.
The opening spread shows a blue elephant-and-child pair, the child atop the adult, white hearts arcing between their uplifted trunks: “You’re a gift and a blessing in every way. / I love you more each and every day.” From there, the adult elephant goes on to tell the child how they are loved more than all sorts of things, some rhyming better than others: “I love you more than all the spaghetti served in Rome, // and more than each and every dog loves her bone.” More than stars, fireflies, “all the languages spoken in the world,” “all the dancers that have ever twirled,” all the kisses ever given and miles ever driven, “all the adventures you have ahead,” and “all the peanut butter and jelly spread on bread!” Representative of all the world’s languages are “I love you” in several languages (with no pronunciation help): English, Sioux, French, German, Swahili, Spanish, Hawaiian, Chinese, and Arabic (these two last in Roman characters only). Bold colors and simple illustrations with no distracting details keep readers’ focus on the main ideas. Dashed lines give the artwork (and at least one word on every spread) the look of 2-D sewn toys.
So sweet it’ll have readers heading for their toothbrushes. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Dec. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4926-8398-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
Share your opinion of this book
More by Sandra Magsamen
BOOK REVIEW
by Sandra Magsamen ; illustrated by Melisa Fernández Nitsche
BOOK REVIEW
by Sandra Magsamen ; illustrated by Sandra Magsamen
BOOK REVIEW
by Sandra Magsamen ; illustrated by Sandra Magsamen
© 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.