One feckless, lazy citizen of the farmyard after another is revealed in this well-crafted, amusing novelty. Yes, this is the same tale of the Little Red Hen who tries to enlist help in sowing, harvesting, and milling the corn to bake her bread. No one is interested; mostly hidden behind flaps—though exposed appendages give them away to both the LRH and the reader—are the lazybones: a turkey cleaning his nails, a cat lolling in the sun, a duck in the muck. Here, rather than blandly getting on with her drudgery, the LRH has a few choice words with her idle mates: “Hello Catty. You’ll help me water the corn, won’t you?” “Eh? Not me Henny, I’m far too busy!” “Busy doing what?” These zingers keep the traditional LRH’s plodding sanctimony at bay, while the lush, character-filled art vivifies the timeworn tale. If self-righteous versions of this story find you hoping the hen chokes on her bread, Allen’s will have you hoping it’s delectable. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-552-54812-X
Page Count: 24
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2003
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Energetic woodcuts accompany playfully simple poems as they give young readers an engaging tour of the barnyard. From the usual suspects—rooster, cow, sheep—to some of the less celebrated denizens of the farm—snake, bees, turtle—each poem varies to suit its subject. The barn cat’s verse is succinct: “Mice / had better / think twice.” The snake’s winds its way down the page in sinuous shape. At their best, Elliott’s images are unexpected and all the more lovely: The turtle “Lifts her fossil head / and blinks / one, two, three / times in the awful light.” Others are not so successful, but Meade’s illustrations give them credence: The rooster “Crows and struts. / He’s got feathers! / He’s got guts!” This rhythmic but rather opaque assertion is accompanied by an oversized rooster who dominates the foreground; eyes shut in concentration, he levitates himself with the force of his crow—the very embodiment of “guts.” Farmyard books are a dime a dozen, but this one is a worthwhile addition, for those poems that reach beyond the ordinary and for the good-natured illustrations that complement them. (Picture book/poetry. 2-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3322-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2008
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