Weary of the mundane creatures inhabiting her yard, a young girl embarks upon a walkabout in search of a crocodile, which she has never seen. In her journey she encounters many unusual creatures, and asks each if it is a crocodile. The giraffe, unnamed by the text, answers, “No. A crocodile is not nearly as tall as I am, and it does not have such a pretty pattern.” “Then I am sorry to have troubled you,” says the narrator. A chance encounter with an emergent hatchling leads to a surprise for the young explorer. “The brand new creature laughed its brand new laugh, and said in its brand new voice, ‘No, I do not know [what a crocodile looks like]. I am a brand new creature and I know nothing at all.’ Then I began to laugh as well.” The brief descriptions of the animals in the narrative and the illustrations will leave no doubt in children’s minds as to the identities of the animals, but just in case, all creatures appear, labeled, on the endpapers. Warm earth tones prevail in the illustrations, successfully conveying a hazy aridness to a fanciful setting. Textured backgrounds and the feathered watercolors combine with delicate hues to create diaphanous images in an imaginative safari to friendship. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1998
ISBN: 1-899607-66-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Trickling, bubbling, swirling, rushing, a river flows down from its mountain beginnings, past peaceful country and bustling city on its way to the sea. Hooper (The Drop in My Drink, 1998, etc.) artfully evokes the water’s changing character as it transforms from “milky-cold / rattling-bold” to a wide, slow “sliding past mudflats / looping through marshes” to the end of its journey. Willey, best known for illustrating Geraldine McCaughrean’s spectacular folk-tale collections, contributes finely detailed scenes crafted in shimmering, intricate blues and greens, capturing mountain’s chill, the bucolic serenity of passing pastures, and a sense of mystery in the water’s shadowy depths. Though Hooper refers to “the cans and cartons / and bits of old wood” being swept along, there’s no direct conservation agenda here (for that, see Debby Atwell’s River, 1999), just appreciation for the river’s beauty and being. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0792-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
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