A wholesome, down-home children’s book, with fine illustrations and a kid-friendly moral.
A delightful folk tale for children about friendship, forgiveness and how Lizard Lick, N.C., got its name.
Matthews’ debut children’s book tells the story of the amusingly named little town of Lizard Lick, a real-life town in North Carolina. The true origins of the town’s name are shrouded in mystery (and may have something to do with moonshine and thirsty lizards), but Matthews invents a fun, imaginative folk-inspired version of its origin. Young Carson asks his grandfather, Papa Richard, how Lizard Lick got its funny name. Papa Richard tells that once, there were two types of folk living by Sweetwater Pond: the Lizards and the Frogs. On the edge of the pond, the Lizards were led by Mayor Walla and their police chief, Broadhead Billy; out on the lily pads, the Frogs of Frogville follow Mayor Hairy Frog and their own top cop, Bullfrogger. Harmony and friendship reign in Sweetwater Pond until a drought hits; as resources dwindle, the Frogs decide that the pond isn’t big enough for both them and the Lizards. To decide who will have ownership over the pond and who will have to leave, the Frogs challenge the Lizards to a sports competition, which includes events such as the long jump, a 10-meter run and a tug of war. The ensuing contest is sure to keep children on the edges of their seats, but the title might give the game away; as Papa Richard says, “It was because the lizards licked the frogs.” But Matthews’ tale isn’t about winners and losers, but about the power of forgiveness, the importance of sharing, and the good karma that comes from playing fair and square. The author’s easy-to-read, descriptive prose is accompanied by Taylor’s beautiful watercolor illustrations that colorfully and wonderfully develop the story’s world and characters. The Frogs and Lizards are rendered in exquisite detail, with humanlike expressions, while still retaining their animal qualities, and the backgrounds will give young readers a great sense of the North Carolina landscape.
A wholesome, down-home children’s book, with fine illustrations and a kid-friendly moral.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-1479382477
Page Count: 36
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2013
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
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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