An inspired and visually creative take on the ABCs.
Letters become animal art in this fact-filled picture book.
A lowercase letter h forms the shape of a horse’s body; an uppercase O, R, and S form the mane, with the tail made up of an upper-case E. Each animal is designed in this style, the letters twisted or flipped. For each animal, Lee includes a concise fact. While a few of these tidbits are refreshingly new (“Sea lions can get lost without their whiskers”), many will be familiar to even young readers (“Ostriches are the largest bird in the world, but they can’t fly”). A few questions are sprinkled throughout, which make for nice pauses in the text: “Flamingos are pink because of the food they eat. If you ate lots of broccoli, would you become green?” Most of the letter-formed animals appear against an all-white background, with a few exceptions. The letter R is cleverly turned upside down forming a rabbit’s ears, but as a part of the rhino, it’s flipped on its side as the horn. The stretched and rotated letters might confuse pre-readers familiar with the alphabet, so adult readers beware: This is by no means a book to help little ones learn their ABCs. But the alphabet as art is compelling, and it functions more like a game than actual reading, especially for little readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An inspired and visually creative take on the ABCs. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: July 18, 2023
ISBN: 9780063244993
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
Overall, merely adequate.
The grass has been greener on the other side for millennia—just ask our prehistoric friend Dave.
Dave lives in a cave decorated with realistic wall paintings, there’s green grass outside, and his woodland friends—a bird and a squirrel—enjoy spending time at his prehistoric bachelor pad. Yet even with all of his comforts, Dave is worried that he may be missing out on a bigger and better cave. It’s this fear that drives Dave out to find a better home and leads readers to question if the grass really is greener on the other side. While readers ponder the existential gravitas of this inquiry, they’ll follow Dave as he travels from caves that are too small, too big, etc. Unsurprisingly, the cave that Dave ultimately ends up in is very familiar. The message of the book is strong, but the writing weakens the point through irregular cavemanspeak that includes words such as “quite” and “cozy” but misses basic verbs. Adults reading the book aloud will quickly tire of the narrative style. The digitally created illustrations are done in the collage style but lack the energy and whimsy of the medium. Dave’s pale skin tone and mop of green hair are roughly styled in The Flintstones school, but he is far more inscrutable than Fred or Barney ever were; his facial expressions do not easily reflect the emotional responses of his situations.
Overall, merely adequate. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9628-3
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
For readers on the Pigeon end of the spectrum, this will hit the spot, but those who love Willems’ quieter protagonists may...
With Willems’ name on it, this abecedary is bound to be zany—and it is.
This over-the-top “smorgasbord” is a tale of a raucous creature that chomps and chews everything in sight, from A to Z. But wait—this is not one of Willems’ simple Elephant and Piggie early readers, nor is it the story of a little girl and her beloved stuffed bunny. This creature is not avian, but it’s a kissing cousin to Willems’ pigeon. The blocky purple character with googly orange eyes wears a blue-and-red–striped shirt and pants (or perhaps pajamas), and it has a black, bulbous nose and protruding white teeth. The beginning letters of its monumental meal stand for common edible items: “Apple! Berries! Cereal!” Then it goes bananas, eating “Furniture!…Kilt! Lunch Box! [and] Napkins!” that induce a run to the “POTTY!” No one will be surprised to learn that the creature is “Queasy” and needs to “Vomit.” An adult figure arrives on the scene with hugs and kisses (“XO-XO-XO!”), and the creature emits a huge “YAWN…” and is finally “Zonked.” Children will follow right along with the creature’s mishaps, and they will enjoy predicting (incorrectly) what it might eat and (correctly) what happens as its face starts to turn green. They’ll also appreciate the kindliness of the adult figure who shows no anger but instead tends lovingly to its charge.
For readers on the Pigeon end of the spectrum, this will hit the spot, but those who love Willems’ quieter protagonists may find it an abrupt change of pace. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-368-01352-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
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