A lightweight addition to the often charming Froggy canon. Froggy has to go for his annual check-up at the doctor’s office. At first he’s happy about this, for it means a day off from school. Then he remembers that it might also mean a shot and his enthusiasm quickly dampens. It’s not long, however, before the rambunctious frog is giving the doctor the Froggy business: making the doctor’s hair curl with his dead-fly breath (“I guess I forgot to brush,” he admits), yelling into the stethoscope, accidentally delivering a blow to the doctor’s chops when his reflexes are tested. The doctor does turn the tables when she brandishes the hypodermic, but she’s only kidding and Froggy escapes without puncture. It is all very airy—though energized by Remkiewicz’s bustling watercolors—and fairly aimless as well. There is very little meat for kids to chew on in this story, little even by way of entertainment. Froggy is typically good at offering a little direction to young readers—about sportsmanship, for instance, or how not to eat in restaurants—but no such is tendered here, be it positive or negative example, except for a slight introduction to the event. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-670-03578-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Twilit enchantment.
Mama and Baby Bear are back, enjoying a summer evening of foraging enlivened by an enthusiastic game of hide-and-seek.
As they watch bats fly from their den, Baby Bear asks Mama where they go. “They are going to look for food,” she replies, and the pair sets off to do likewise. On successive spreads, Mama “sniffs the warm night air” and eats berries, catches a trout, drinks water, and munches dandelions, all the while playing the familiar game. Whenever “she looks around, / Baby Bear is nowhere in sight. / ‘Where, oh where, is Baby Bear?’ calls Mama.” Wolff hides Baby Bear in plain sight for children to spy. Each time he reveals himself, the cub identifies both an element of his woodland habitat and an English preposition to learn about. “Here I am, Mama…. / Inside the mossy log.” He also hides “up” in a birch tree, “behind” a waterfall, “between” some cattails, and “on top of” a boulder, silhouetted against the rising full moon. Mama’s gentle indulgence of her cub’s miniexplorations exemplifies confident parenting. With her firm “Come along now, Baby Bear,” the two retrace the evening’s feeding (and hiding) spots. (Wolff adds some fresh prepositions, too.) Wolff fully masters her media—linoleum prints luminously enhanced with watercolor. Children will pore over these pages, identifying creatures of woodland and meadow.
Twilit enchantment. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-9916-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
The message is wholehearted and positive, but the cloying execution doesn’t stand out.
A parent koala encourages its child to engage in every pursuit, and so do several other animals.
The British celebrity author, host of both children’s and adult TV programs, has a very positive message to spread, but there is nothing original in the lightweight text. The many animal characters pictured in diverting, fuzzy-edged illustrations engage in various activities as the text encourages them. “You can sing! If you love to sing, sing. / Shout at the top of your lungs, or whisper soft and sweet.” On verso, a frog quartet harmonizes, while across the gutter, a lion is shown with open mouth roaring as a small bird presumably whispers. Using rhyme and alliteration but without real poetic consistency, lines such as these appear: “You can share. You can care. You can create. You can learn. / You can wonder. You can wander.” The pink flamingo creating a fantastic dessert with pineapple rings is an appealing image, and children will enjoy seeing the cuddly baby koala throughout the book as other animals step up for their showcase. The fantasy-forest setting and its animals will keep small children engaged, but the sweetness comes with a significant aftertaste of treacle. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.5-by-19-inch double-page spreads viewed at 34.5% of actual size.)
The message is wholehearted and positive, but the cloying execution doesn’t stand out. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-18141-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
