Readers would be hard-pressed to find a snappier introduction to language appreciation, poetry and vocabulary enrichment.
A striking exploration of the animal kingdom in bilingual poems.
Award-winning author/illustrator Paschkis’ free verse, bilingual animal poems are more than delightful. They tease and meander across the emotional spectrum. Some are whimsical: “Fat cat / naps on a map. / When she gets up / s h e s t r e t c h e s / from Arequipa to Zanzibar / and her belly bumps Topolobampo. / Elastic cat.” Others are more reflective: “Out of the darkness / an owl hoots. / An echo. // The night train / is leaving.” The English scans as well as the Spanish, which is noteworthy because the Spanish-language poems were written first—by an author who began teaching herself Spanish while illustrating a previous book, Monica Brown’s Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People (2011). Her deft touch has both languages whispering or laughing at each other across double-page spreads, as if inviting readers to cross a bridge of sound. The dynamic gouache illustrations are as integral to the poetry as the printed text. Stealth vocabulary, hand-written on leaves and ocean currents, swishes and swirls side by side, intent on conversations that are independent of the poems and the playful images cavorting around them.
Readers would be hard-pressed to find a snappier introduction to language appreciation, poetry and vocabulary enrichment. (author’s notes) (Bilingual picture book/poetry. 3-10)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-62779-103-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Familiarity breeds a birthday for the ages in this party worth attending.
Don’t let the Pigeon ruin his own special day!
Anyone who has ever encountered the title character in any of his books—whether his first, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (2003), or one of its many sequels—will understand that the bird’s innate self-love drives his every interaction. Little wonder, then, that he’s thrilled about his own “bird-day.” He has the hat. He has his “FANCY PLUMAGE.” And, best of all, he will get to blow out a candle “on my bird-day hot dog!” As he revels in the knowledge that this day is all for him, comeuppance is lurking. Someone has already blown out the bird-day candle—and eaten half the hot dog. It turns out that the Pigeon’s frenemy, the Duckling, has the same bird-day—as do a slew of newly hatched chicks. The Pigeon’s obligatory eight-panel freakout ensues. “What am I—invisible? I just want to be seen,” he whimpers, and when he receives some much-needed reassurance, he settles down and willingly shares his special day. While the switch from unapologetic narcissism to mature acceptance happens in the record-breaking span of two pages, the book is as enchanting as the Pigeon’s earlier outings. Even as it walks in the footsteps of its predecessors, there’s no denying the fun to be had.
Familiarity breeds a birthday for the ages in this party worth attending. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9781454999621
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
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BOOK REVIEW
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
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BOOK REVIEW
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