In a variation on the familiar phrase “You look just like . . . , ” Kuskin’s (The Sky Is Always in the Sky, 1998, etc.) heroine has her aunt Grace’s smile, her grandma’s eyebrows, and her father’s feet, except for her little toe, which is a lot more like Aunt Jen’s. Her family compares each part of her anatomy to someone else. After all the similarities are noted, the feisty girl stands up and proudly proclaims that although she may look like others, she is “no one else but me.” The text is bouncy and rhythmic and lends itself to reading aloud. Wolcott’s (Dog Days: Rhymes Around the Year, not reviewed) bold gouache and watercolor illustrations show the little girl’s extended family having fun at the beach. Grandmother, parents, aunts, and their dogs enjoy the day swimming, playing, bicycling, sunbathing, and basking in the warm, sunny weather. The endpapers extend the action by showing the family driving to the beach at the beginning of the book and going home in darkness at the end. The pages are drenched with color, filled with movement, and if the readers look carefully, they can pick out the resemblances, too. An upbeat, happy, colorful little story with a lesson for grown-ups. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: June 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-689-81473-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2000
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Bear finds a wonderful toy.
Bear clearly loves the toy bunny that he has found sitting up against a tree in the forest, but he wants to help it return to its home. With a wagon full of fliers and the bunny secure in Bear’s backpack, he festoons the trees with posters and checks out a bulletin board filled with lost and found objects (some of which will bring a chuckle to adult readers). Alas, he returns home still worried about bunny. The following day, they happily play together and ride Bear’s tricycle. Into the cozy little picture steps Moose, who immediately recognizes his bunny, named Floppy. Bear has a tear in his eye as he watches Moose and Floppy hug. But Moose, wearing a tie, is clearly grown and knows that it is time to share and that Bear will take very good care of his Floppy. Yoon’s story is sweet without being sentimental. She uses digitized artwork in saturated colors to create a lovely little world for her animals. They are outlined in strong black lines and stand out against the yellows, blues, greens and oranges of the background. She also uses space to great effect, allowing readers to feel the emotional tug of the story.
A winning tale about finding new friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8027-3559-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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