Whether read as Zen nature walk, bedtime story, or gentle science starter, this story begs to be visited again and again.
A nighttime woodland wander as simple, elegant, and classic as “Taps.”
“Hello, moon. / Goodbye, sun. // Night is near. / Day is done.” These simple words begin a spare rhyming text of about 110 words, opening the door to a magical nighttime animal world. Realistic illustrations in sunny shades morph into the blues of dusk and night, reemerging as the golden tones of dawn. An owl, a fox, raccoons, and mice “scurry pounce flutter [and] glide” as they explore, hunt, and play in the undergrowth. The mice may often seem to be in danger, but they are ultimately always safe. Most images read as nighttime, but each featured animal—and often its offspring—is spotlighted on the page and easily visible, making this a good group read-aloud. The color of the print also changes from black on light backgrounds to white on dark for legibility. However, subtle details are hidden in the shadowy illustrations, and some serious snuggle time with the book will reveal animal nests or dens, mice sneaking through most scenes, and other woodland creatures here and there. This gentle science lesson can be extended with a discussion about the difference between butterflies as creatures of the day and moths as denizens of the night. Although “wild winds blow, / lightning flash. // Thunder roars! / Raindrops splash,” the drama is muted as animals safely scurry home to a “warm and dry, / cozy lair.”
Whether read as Zen nature walk, bedtime story, or gentle science starter, this story begs to be visited again and again. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4701-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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