Like Daisy encouraging Digger to dive, this work is a welcoming invitation to read and a sweet encouragement to spend time...
In this early reader, a dog learns from his sister what he can and cannot do like other animals on a visit to the zoo.
It is a hot day, so Digger, a spirited pup, and his older sister, Daisy, decide to go to the zoo. “Digger and Daisy look at birds. They see big birds. They see little birds. / Red birds. Green birds. Yellow and blue birds, too.” There is a nice rhythm to that, and it’s accompanied by cartoony artwork that readers will relate to, since, despite its subtle sophistication and adept lines, they might fancy they could do the same. Digger tries to imitate a flamingo standing on one leg, and he tumbles over. His sister tells him that he can’t do that but that he can walk on two legs. On through the zoo. “I want to climb a tree,” says Digger, inspired by monkeys. No chance. But his sister reminds him that he can climb stairs, till they are eye to eye with the giraffe. When they spy the duck pond, Digger asks if he might go in. His sister concurs, but Digger balks, since he had failed so many times that day. But his sister encourages him, until he takes the plunge. It’s a lovely little tribute to sibling camaraderie.
Like Daisy encouraging Digger to dive, this work is a welcoming invitation to read and a sweet encouragement to spend time with siblings. (Early reader. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-58536-841-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 2, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Loewen’s story is a simple snapshot of kindergarten graduation day, and it stays true to form, with Yoshikawa’s artwork resembling photos that might be placed in an album—and the illustrations cheer, a mixed media of saturated color, remarkable depth and joyful expression. The author comfortably captures the hesitations of making the jump from kindergarten to first grade without making a fuss about it, and she makes the prospect something worth the effort. Trepidation aside, this is a reminder of how much fun kindergarten was: your own cubbyhole, the Halloween parade, losing a tooth, “the last time we’ll ever sit criss-cross applesauce together.” But there is also the fledgling’s pleasure at shucking off the past—swabbing the desks, tossing out the stubbiest crayons, taking the pictures off the wall—and surging into the future. Then there is graduation itself: donning the mortarboards, trooping into the auditorium—“Mr. Meyer starts playing a serious song on the piano. It makes me want to cry. It makes me want to march”—which will likely have a few adult readers feeling the same. (Picture book. 4-5)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5807-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
This long-running British series (the first Little Princess book was published in 1986) has been adapted for television there. In this installment, her dad (in a jacket and tie, wearing his crown) has read her a story and is about to turn off the light when the Little Princess shouts, “I WANT MY LIGHT ON!”—with her entire face subsumed into one of those scarlet, tooth-edged mouths. She’s not afraid of the dark but of ghosts. Dad checks under the bed, and General, Admiral, Doctor and Maid assure her there are no ghosts. The Little Princess’s room is a bright yellow, but readers see glimpses of the castle’s arches and stone steps past her doorway—and then there is a little ghost behind her bedpost, with a skeleton toy the shape of Little Princess’s own stuffie. Ghost and Princess scare each other, and he dashes off to his mother, who, as she stirs her pot of frog, worm and spider stew, assures him that there are no such things as little girls.... The pictures are clear, bold and exaggerated to great humorous effect. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7613-6443-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Andersen Press USA
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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