by Julie Kraulis ; illustrated by Julie Kraulis ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2016
A fun trip to the Big Apple.
An intrepid armadillo feels that special itch that tweaks his curiosity and leads him to new places.
Arlo has been to Paris (An Armadillo in Paris, 2014) and now seeks new adventures. Reading his grandfather Augustin’s travel journal about New York City inspires him to see that exciting metropolis for himself. The journal guides him to one sight after another, giving clues along the way about the mysterious Lady Liberty that will be his final destination in the city. Continuing the format of the previous work, each sight on the itinerary is given a double-page spread with an excerpted page from Augustin’s journal, an oil-and-graphite illustration softly hued with pops of color, and a description of Arlo’s experience at each destination. He visits the Top of the Rock, the New York Public Library, Grand Central Terminal, and more. He tastes lots of ethnic street food and sees a baseball game at Yankee Stadium. He gathers the clues about Lady Liberty and finally sees her, the Statue of Liberty in all her towering glory. (An appended page of facts on the statue provides further information.) Kraulis’ double narration forms a neat package, combining Augustin’s enthusiasm with Arlo’s reactions. A large-scale Arlo is always center stage in the illustrations, and the humans seem to be OK with this stranger in their midst.
A fun trip to the Big Apple. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: April 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-891-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
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by Julie Kraulis ; illustrated by Julie Kraulis
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by Julie Kraulis ; illustrated by Julie Kraulis
by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010
Hee haw.
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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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by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley
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by Doug MacLeod ; illustrated by Craig Smith
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by Adam Osterweil and illustrated by Craig Smith
by Sandra Markle & illustrated by Howard McWilliam ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2013
Irresistible.
What if an animal’s teeth grew into the space where you lost your two front teeth?
Markle chews on this interesting question in this compelling combination of imagination and fact. Spread by double-page spread, she introduces animals with unusual choppers, from the beaver’s iron-coated orange incisors to the camel’s worn-out stubs, and explains what they’re used for. Or, in the case of the narwhal’s single tusk, points out that scientists don’t yet know. On the left-hand side of each spread, photographs of the animals emphasize their teeth. On the right, a human child is portrayed with that animal’s teeth. These film-animation–style illustrations reinforce the fantasy aspect and feature a diverse range of children. A black-haired boy in flip-flops lifts a car with his elephant tusks. A girl in a wheelchair picks up soup noodles with her flexible, naked-mole-rat front teeth. The text is presented in small chunks—a paragraph of description and a toothy fact on one page facing a paragraph about what you could do with such teeth. The reading will be a challenge for the intended audience, but the subject so compelling they won't be able to resist. A backpack-wearing boy with dark-framed glasses and dripping fangs greets a rattlesnake on the cover.
Irresistible. (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-48438-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
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by Sandra Markle ; illustrated by Vanessa Morales
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