Here’s hoping that this welcome return presages plenty of additional adventures.
Fans of porcine siblings Fergus and Dink’s first outing will be thrilled to welcome them back to the beach, while pirate-loving listeners (familiar or not) will be particularly pleased.
Once again, Sattler offers a fresh and clever take on a perennially popular theme. This time, it’s Fergus’ turn to help Dink have a good day. Waking up from a nap on Dave, the surfboard that started it all, Dink is grumpy. He doesn’t want to wade (the water is too cold) or build a sand castle (his unsuccessful efforts are too close to the water’s edge). Even his snack is ruined when Fergus unwittingly flings sand on him. Fergus’ find—a pirate hat—proves temporarily intriguing, but Dink still winds up stomping along the shore. Slimed with seaweed and nipped by a crab, he comes careening back to his brother only to find a picture-perfect pirate ship made of sand and himself made one of the crew. Brisk dialogue gains extra humor from the bright and bouncy illustrations, created with acrylics and colored pencil. The brothers’ expressive faces, especially their eyes, which roll, squint and smile, add emotional heft. Simple backgrounds allow the boys to claim center stage, while textured strokes effectively evoke the broad swath of sand and the swirling sea.
Here’s hoping that this welcome return presages plenty of additional adventures. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61963-200-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Young readers will be “antsy” to join the hero on her satisfying escapade.
An ant explores her world.
Addie Ant’s ready for adventure. Despite some trepidation about leaving the Tomato Bed, where she lives with her aunt, she plucks up her courage and ventures forth across the garden to the far side of the shed. On her journey, she meets her pal Lewis Ladybug, who greets her warmly, points the way, and offers sage advice. When Addie arrives at her destination, she’s welcomed by lovely Beatrix Butterfly and enjoys an “ant-tastic” helping of watermelon. Beatrix also provides Addie with take-home treats and a map for the “Cricket Express,” which will take her straight home. Arriving at the terminal, Addie’s delighted to meet another friend, Cleo Cricket, whose carriage service returns Addie home in “two hops.” After eating a warm tomato soup dinner, Addie falls asleep and dreams of future exploits. Adorable though not terribly original, this story brims with sensuous pleasures, both textual and visual. Kids who declare that they dislike fruits or veggies may find their mouths watering at the mentions and sights of luscious tomatoes, peas, beans, watermelons, berries, and other foodstuffs; insect-averse readers may likewise think differently after encountering these convivial, wide-eyed characters. And those flowers and herbs everywhere! The highlights are the colors that burst from the pages. Addie’s an endearing, empowering character who reassures children they’ll be able to take those first independent steps successfully.
Young readers will be “antsy” to join the hero on her satisfying escapade. (author’s note about ants) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781797228914
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
Hee haw.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
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.
bookshelf
