by Jenni Desmond ; illustrated by Jenni Desmond ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 15, 2016
An uneven effort.
In this companion to The Blue Whale (2015), Desmond introduces the polar bear’s habitat, physical characteristics, life cycle, and food sources.
The pithy text clearly explains such adaptations as the bear’s two layers of fur and extraordinary sense of hearing. Details about hunting for food, raising young, and the crucial role played by sea ice in the bear’s range are smoothly delivered. The digitally finished illustrations, combining paint, pencil, crayon, and printmaking techniques, are lovely when texturally evoking ice, sea, and fur. Threading throughout, though, are fanciful depictions of a black-haired, brown-skinned child—perhaps intended to appear Inuit. Wearing a red crown, fur-trimmed parka, striped tights, and boots, she plays in various scenes (often toting this very book). A spread likening the polar bear’s weight to that of 7-year-olds depicts 20 cavorting children. Most appear to be Inuit or at least First Nations, but the white child from The Blue Whale is shown, sharing that book. The penultimate spread shows the girl sleeping, entwined with a bear and cubs. The juxtaposition of fantasy and realism is confusing and undermines the book’s informative aspects, and no cultural context is provided for the Inuit depictions. Environmental threats to the polar bear’s habitat are relegated to a brief author’s note; there are no resources for further information.
An uneven effort. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-59270-200-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2016
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by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010
Hee haw.
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The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2014
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
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