Lively, visually inviting introduction to peculiar appellations assigned to animal groups.
In this companion to A Loveliness of Ladybugs (2020), Broderick expands her look at collective nouns to a new group of animals.
Beginning with a “wisdom of wombats” and closing with a “rumba of rattlesnakes,” each of the 16 collective animal nouns included receives double-page treatment with a definition, pronunciation, and visual illustration linking the animals to their group name. The presentation for a “bouquet of hummingbirds” reveals hummingbirds fluttering around a vase like “an arrangement of flowers,” reflecting the definition of bouquet as exactly that. Similarly, the wide-eyed raccoons used in a “gaze of raccoons” peer from behind tree trunks, perfect examples of gaze as “a long, fixed look.” Likewise, the raucous illustration of wildly honking geese for a “gaggle of geese” visually confirms gaggle as a “noisy group.” A “constellation of sea stars” fits the five-armed echinoderms scattered across the ocean floor in the shape of the Big Dipper, a “race of roadrunners” suits speeding roadrunners, and a “squadron of pelicans” works for aviating pelicans. Aided considerably by the fluid, brightly colored, clever illustrations, the rationale behind most of the collective nouns seems obvious; however, the connection between name and animal group in other examples—for instance, “journey of giraffes,” the titular “wisdom of wombats,” or “troop of kangaroos”—is less than apparent, and readers will wish there were background information explaining their originations.
Lively, visually inviting introduction to peculiar appellations assigned to animal groups. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5037-5708-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sunbird Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A good choice for a late fall storytime.
Animal behaviors change as they prepare to face the winter.
Migrate, hibernate, or tolerate. With smooth rhymes and jaunty illustrations, Salas and Gévry introduce three strategies animals use for coping with winter cold. The author’s long experience in imparting information to young readers is evident in her selection of familiar animals and in her presentation. Spread by spread she introduces her examples, preparing in fall and surviving in winter. She describes two types of migration: Hummingbirds and monarchs fly, and blue whales travel to the warmth of the south; earthworms burrow deeper into the earth. Without using technical words, she introduces four forms of hibernation—chipmunks nap and snack; bears mainly sleep; Northern wood frogs become an “icy pop,” frozen until spring; and normally solitary garter snakes snuggle together in huge masses. Those who can tolerate the winter still change behavior. Mice store food and travel in tunnels under the snow; moose grow a warmer kind of fur; the red fox dives into the snow to catch small mammals (like those mice); and humans put on warm clothes and play. The animals in the soft pastel illustrations are recognizable, more cuddly than realistic, and quite appealing; their habitats are stylized. The humans represent varied ethnicities. Each page includes two levels of text, and there’s further information in the extensive backmatter. Pair with Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen’s Winter Bees (2014).
A good choice for a late fall storytime. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2900-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
A $16.99 Mother’s Day card for cat lovers.
The team of Costain and Lovšin (Daddies are Awesome, 2016) gives moms their due.
Rhyming verses tell of all the ways moms are amazing: “Mommies are magic. / They kiss away troubles… // …find gold in the sunlight / and rainbows in bubbles.” Moms are joyful—the best playmates. They are also fearless and will protect and soothe if you are scared. Clever moms know just what to do when you’re sad, sporty moms run and leap and climb, while tender moms cuddle. “My mommy’s so special. / I tell her each day… // … just how much I love her / in every way!” Whereas dads were illustrated with playful pups and grown-up dogs in the previous book, moms are shown as cats with their kittens in myriad colors, sizes, and breeds. Lovšin’s cats look as though they are smiling at each other in their fun, though several spreads are distractingly cut in half by the gutter. However delightful the presentation—the verse rolls fairly smoothly, and the cats are pretty cute—the overall effect is akin to a cream puff’s: very sweet and insubstantial.
A $16.99 Mother’s Day card for cat lovers. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62779-651-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
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