Encore, encore for kid lit’s ap-peel-ing new primate.
Monkey + banana = recipe for delicious cake…or delicious comedy?
In this first installment of a new series, the answer comes in two courses. Balancing cooking and banana-eating, bipedal primate Mr. Monkey clumsily bakes his entry for the upcoming cake show. But the route to the show contains many obstacles—and some are hungry for Mr. Monkey’s precious prizewinner-to-be. Pratfall after pratfall, readers will laugh and wonder if the cake will make it to the competition in one piece. The simultaneously published companion title, Mr. Monkey Visits a School, follows the same vaudeville formula: Mr. Monkey masters a new juggling trick and shares it at a school but only after lengthy, treacherous travels. In both stories, the narrator interacts with Mr. Monkey and provides running commentary of his antics. Characters’ speech is smartly confined only to interjections—“ooh,” “oops,” “eek,” “yum,” etc.—that play off the narrator’s matter-of-fact delivery with expert comedic timing. Though without chapters to separate parts of the story, the text’s economy of language (fewer than 90 vocabulary words and their variants) and repetition provide ample support for emergent readers. The slapstick humor is driven by Mack’s bold and colorful cartoon illustrations. The humans in Mr. Monkey’s neighborhood are diverse in skin tone. The cast also notably includes a tattooed, bearded bicyclist.
Encore, encore for kid lit’s ap-peel-ing new primate. (Early reader. 4-8)Pub Date: July 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0431-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers.
Two little rats decide to show the world how tough they are, with unpredictable results.
Louie and Ralphie Ratso want to be just like their single dad, Big Lou: tough! They know that “tough” means doing mean things to other animals, like stealing Chad Badgerton’s hat. Chad Badgerton is a big badger, so taking that hat from him proves that Louie and Ralphie are just as tough as they want to be. However, it turns out that Louie and Ralphie have just done a good deed instead of a bad one: Chad Badgerton had taken that hat from little Tiny Crawley, a mouse, so when Tiny reclaims it, they are celebrated for goodness rather than toughness. Sadly, every attempt Louie and Ralphie make at doing mean things somehow turns nice. What’s a little boy rat supposed to do to be tough? Plus, they worry about what their dad will say when he finds out how good they’ve been. But wait! Maybe their dad has some other ideas? LaReau keeps the action high and completely appropriate for readers embarking on chapter books. Each of the first six chapters features a new, failed attempt by Louie and Ralphie to be mean, and the final, seventh chapter resolves everything nicely. The humor springs from their foiled efforts and their reactions to their failures. Myers’ sprightly grayscale drawings capture action and characters and add humorous details, such as the Ratsos’ “unwelcome” mat.
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers. (Fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7636-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Fun, silly stuffalo.
What will happen when a surly buffalo has his cover blown?
The book opens on a peaceful, sunny landscape dotted by trees, flowers, and a river. Turning the page, readers meet the Buffalo Fluffalo. The cantankerous creature glares fiercely at readers, his stylized, curly coat puffed out above small bovine feet. A ram, a prairie dog, and a crow each approach the Buffalo Fluffalo with overtures of friendship, but all receive—ahem—a “rebuffalo.” He responds to each with a gruff “I’m the Buffalo Fluffalo—/ I heave and I huffalo./ Leave me alone because/ I’ve had enuffalo!”—a refrain rendered in a large bold text. But after a torrential downpour, the Buffalo Fluffalo is drenched; his fluffy coat plastered to his body, he’s now a fraction of his former size. How will the other animals react? The rhythmic, rhyming verses take plenty of liberties with language and use lots of alliteration, resulting in a humorous read. Despite his aggressive stance, our protagonist is endearingly cross-eyed, and the art exploits the comedic potential of a character who hides behind a puffed-up appearance. Some may wonder why the other animals are working so hard to befriend such a relentlessly hostile character, but all the nonsense words and the complementary art are so appealing that readers will easily accept the sugary ending.
Fun, silly stuffalo. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593564530
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House Studio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
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