Ducky searches high and low for a friend who can play, but discovers that the best friend he can have is literally right under his nose. A beautiful day is made for sharing, and Ducky tries to get Bee to play with him—“but Bee is too busy bizz-buzzing away.” Mouse is too busy finding seeds and Frog is too busy hopping about the pond. Dejected, Ducky slides into the water and floats along, until he spots another Duck floating right in front of him. Not realizing that it’s just his reflection, Ducky encourages the “other duck” to copy his many tricks. From floating on their backs, to blowing bubbles, Ducky’s new friend seems to have no trouble keeping up. At the end of the day, Ducky leaves his pal to return to his mother. He hints that maybe he does know the truth about his playmate when he states, “Mama being just Ducky was just ducky fun.” Simple illustrations rendered in a combination of markers, colored pencils, oil pastels, and acrylic paint feature this bright yellow duckling playing in his impossibly blue pond. The rhythmic verse and repetitive phrases make this a perfect read-aloud selection for encouraging young children to use their imagination and creativity. A charmer. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-8027-8824-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2002
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Energetic woodcuts accompany playfully simple poems as they give young readers an engaging tour of the barnyard. From the usual suspects—rooster, cow, sheep—to some of the less celebrated denizens of the farm—snake, bees, turtle—each poem varies to suit its subject. The barn cat’s verse is succinct: “Mice / had better / think twice.” The snake’s winds its way down the page in sinuous shape. At their best, Elliott’s images are unexpected and all the more lovely: The turtle “Lifts her fossil head / and blinks / one, two, three / times in the awful light.” Others are not so successful, but Meade’s illustrations give them credence: The rooster “Crows and struts. / He’s got feathers! / He’s got guts!” This rhythmic but rather opaque assertion is accompanied by an oversized rooster who dominates the foreground; eyes shut in concentration, he levitates himself with the force of his crow—the very embodiment of “guts.” Farmyard books are a dime a dozen, but this one is a worthwhile addition, for those poems that reach beyond the ordinary and for the good-natured illustrations that complement them. (Picture book/poetry. 2-5)
Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3322-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2008
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