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THE TURTLE AND THE MONKEY

Name: THE TURTLE AND THE MONKEY
Author: Joanna C. Galdone
ISBN: 0395544254

by Joanna C. Galdone & illustrated by Paul Galdone ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 1983

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Described as "a Philippine tale," this story of a turtle who finds a banana tree in the river and a monkey who cheats her out of its fruit begins with a catchy folklore situation but ultimately trails off in bits and pieces. As Turtle can't carry the tree to her garden by herself, she asks Monkey for help and agrees to give him his share in return. Monkey then insists on splitting the tree now, not the bananas later, and chooses the showier top half for himself. Though it is Turtle's half that survives and bears fruit, once more she must turn to Monkey, offering him some of the bananas if he will climb the tree and throw some down. Instead, he merely climbs up and eats his fill. Snappy enough so far, the story needs only a fitting comeuppance, but Turtle's strewing thorns and prickers around the tree and Monkey's painful hopping about on his descent doesn't quite answer. Grafted onto this is a briar-bush routine, with Monkey threatening reprisal and Turtle begging not to be thrown into the river. . . and then, when she is, paddling happily downstream, the bananas forgotten. Even Galdone's drawings lack spirit, with repetitive, minimally varied shots of Monkey and Turtle facing off against a slapdash tropical background.

Pub Date: March 21, 1983

ISBN: 0395544254

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Clarion Books

Review Posted Online: April 26, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1983

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
THREE AESOP FOX FABLES
by Joanna C. Galdone & Paul Galdone

- BOOK REVIEW
THE THREE LITTLE PIGS
by Joanna C. Galdone & Paul Galdone

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S SPRINGTIME

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 2, 2018

Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.

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Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.

This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.

Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)