A visual treat.
A meditation on being big, being little, and finding ways to share the proverbial sky.
Two little boys play in their yard beneath a big Climbing Tree, which Big Brother, being the bigger and stronger, is the first to scale. Little Brother is eager to join him, but his mother reminds him that he is simply too little for the big tree. Time passes, and Little Brother is allowed to climb the tree, but when he has climbed as high as a bird, Big Brother has already climbed as high as a mountain, and then higher still, to the Sun. Little Brother cannot compete, as Big Brother reminds him “there isn’t room for both of us…there’s only one Sun in the sky.” Excluded from the possibility of ever catching up, Little Brother simply weeps in his mother’s lap. The boys ultimately become lonely and find resolution when Big Brother Sun agrees to share the sky with Little Brother as the Moon. With folkloric echoes aplenty (but no specific credit), the plot feels very familiar, and the boys’ mother comes across as little more than a naysayer to Little Brother. It is the book’s illustrations that truly carry the day. Every detail is charming and ingenious—from the sumptuous gold-on-green endpapers to the two boys’ joy, represented by flying birds, racing deer, and icy mountains. Both boys are depicted with light-brown skin and fluffy, brown hair.
A visual treat. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-57687-934-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: POW!
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series.
Another creature is on the loose.
The long-running series continues its successful formula with this Hallmark card of a book, which features bright illustrations and catchy rhymes. This time, the mythical creature the racially diverse children set out to catch is an absent mom who does it all (lists of descriptors include the words banker, caregiver, nurse, doctor, driver, chef, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, playmate, laundry service, problem solver, handywoman, cleaner, and alarm clock) but doesn’t seem to have a job outside the home and is inexplicably a dinosaur. As the children prepare gifts and a meal for her, the text becomes an ode to the skills the Mamasaurus possesses (“Day or night she’s always there. / She meets every wish and need”) and values she instills (“Sometimes life can mean hard work,” “kindness matters,” and “what counts is doing your best”). This well-intentioned selection veers into cliche generously sprinkled with saccharine but manages to redeem itself with its appreciation for mothers and all that they may do. Endpapers include a “to” and “from” page framed in a heart, as well as a page where young gift givers or recipients can draw a picture of their Mamasaurus.
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781728274300
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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