A simple but fun animal tale with a relatable premise.
A cow misses old friends but makes some new ones in this picture book.
When a cow arrives at her new home at Shady Shack Farm, the other animals are welcoming. They try to engage the cow, offering to partake in activities such as playing tag, sharing food, going for a swim, and picking strawberries. After each proposal, the cow replies: “I’m not in the mooood.” The animals begin to feel insulted by the cow’s refusals. But the pig realizes that the cow “must be sad” and asks her if she would like to talk about the friends she left behind. The cow perks up at this suggestion and is heartened when the other animals emphatically agree to listen. Finally, the cow says, “I AM in the mooood for that!”—and everyone gathers around to listen. Though Kuhl’s story does not explain why the cow moves to Shady Shack Farm, the concept of reluctantly leaving friends behind will be recognizable to many readers. The language here makes this book a delightful read-aloud choice because words are emphasized according to the animal speaking. For example, the snake says, “Let’ssss lounge in the warm ssssunshine.” At one point, the bee observes about the cow’s behavior: “It is bizzzzarre.” Wells’ illustrations feature cartoonlike animal depictions and mainly green-hued backgrounds as well as bright blue skies and typical farm details like a red barn and a wood fence.
A simple but fun animal tale with a relatable premise.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-5255-8413-8
Page Count: 22
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
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
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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