A solid and gleeful dose of ridiculousness.
It’s not called horseplay for nothing.
Farmer is the unhappy owner of a “worthless bunch” of horses that sleep all day. What gives with these narcoleptic nags, he wonders, so he hides out that night to spy on them, discovering the horses spend the night monkeying around—call it horseplay, with the emphasis on play. Wilson’s rhymed text is just as merry as her subjects: “Those horses didn’t sleep one bit. / They frolicked on the loose. / They joined in games like Hide-and-Seek, / Leapfrog, and Duck, Duck, Goose.” But her Farmer is a killjoy, ready to throw his wet blanket on the herd for some reason; surely he doesn't want them to work for their oats. Night after night the horses thwart his party-pooping, until finally he stops the horseplay by staying up all night, which makes him one of those worthless types that sleep all day. The mood here is of subversive festivity, with a rolling, melodious pleasure to the words and a gratifying, easy quality to McMullan’s artwork, with its 1950s feel and eye-comforting colors. The horses even learn that a good night’s sleep doesn’t cut into their horseplay.
A solid and gleeful dose of ridiculousness. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 5, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-316-93842-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2012
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender...
A polar-bear parent speaks poetically of love for a child.
A genderless adult and cub travel through the landscapes of an arctic year. Each of the softly rendered double-page paintings has a very different feel and color palette as the pair go through the seasons, walking through wintry ice and snow and green summer meadows, cavorting in the blue ocean, watching whales, and playing beside musk oxen. The rhymes of the four-line stanzas are not forced, as is the case too often in picture books of this type: “When cold, winter winds / blow the leaves far and wide, / You’ll cross the great icebergs / with me by your side.” On a dark, snowy night, the loving parent says: “But for now, cuddle close / while the stars softly shine. // I’ll always be yours, / and you’ll always be mine.” As the last illustration shows the pair curled up for sleep, young listeners will be lulled to sweet dreams by the calm tenor of the pictures and the words. While far from original, this timeless theme is always in demand, and the combination of delightful illustrations and poetry that scans well make this a good choice for early-childhood classrooms, public libraries, and one-on-one home read-alouds.
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender restrictions. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-070-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Willems’ formula is still a winner.
The pigeon is back, and he is filthy!
Readers haven’t seen the pigeon for a couple of years, not since The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? (2012), and apparently he hasn’t bathed in all that time. Per the usual routine, the bus driver (clad in shower cap and bathrobe) opens the story by asking readers to help convince the pigeon to take a bath. Though he’s covered in grime, the obstreperous bird predictably resists. He glares at readers and suggests that maybe they need baths. With the turn of the page, Willems anticipates readers’ energetic denials: The pigeon demands, “YEAH! When was the last time YOU had a bath?!” Another beat allows children to supply the answer. “Oh.” A trio of flies that find him repulsive (“P.U.!”) convinces him it’s time. One spread with 29 separate panels depicts the pigeon adjusting the bath (“Too wet!…Too cold.…Too reflective”) before the page turn reveals him jumping in with a spread-filling “SPLASH!” Readers accustomed to the pigeon formula will note that here the story breaks from its normal rhythms; instead of throwing a tantrum, the pigeon discovers what readers already know: “This is FUN!” All the elements are in place, including page backgrounds that modulate from dirty browns to fresh, clean colors and endpapers that bookend the story (including a very funny turnabout for the duckling, here a rubber bath toy).
Willems’ formula is still a winner. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9087-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
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