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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The greeting-card art and jokey rhymes work for the baby-shower market but not for the youngest readers.
Animal parents declare their love for their offspring through rhymed puns and sentimental art.
The title sets the scene for what’s to come: The owl asks the owlet as they fly together, “WHOO loves you?”; the kangaroo and joey make each other “very HOPPY”; and the lioness and cub are a “PURRRFECT pair.” Most of the puns are both unimaginative and groanworthy, and they are likely to go over the heads of toddlers, who are not know for their wordplay abilities. The text is set in abcb quatrains split over two double-page spreads. On each spread, one couplet appears on the verso within a lightly decorated border on pastel pages. On the recto, a full-bleed portrait of the animal and baby appears in softly colored and cozy images. Hearts are prominent on every page, floating between the parent and baby as if it is necessary to show the love between each pair. Although these critters are depicted in mistily conceived natural habitats and are unclothed, they are human stand-ins through and through.
The greeting-card art and jokey rhymes work for the baby-shower market but not for the youngest readers. (Board book. 6 mos-2)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-1374-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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