Odd and off-putting.
Life’s full of important questions.
“When you hear ‘duck,’ ” asks Kuenster, “do you lower your head? / Or do you smile?” Once introduced, a white-feathered, blue-eyed duck leads readers to consider a series of other questions, many of which use rhyming words for emphasis (and silliness): “Did you ever grow a carrot so big? / It was too big for your pet pig.” Simple with bold hues, the illustrations have the look of childlike doodles reimagined through MS Paint. They are engaging, but storytellers reading the tale aloud will quickly find the fatal flaw of the story; the majority of the questions have yes or no answers, shutting down many opportunities for conversation, predictive thinking, and imaginative discussions. The final question is surprisingly heavy for the tale. “If an elephant lifted you…and asked to be freed / should his roomies / be free too?” Readers may ask if the jail cell (for an elephant, a frog, and a snake) is a zoo or a prison. Astute readers may guess it’s the prison of the book itself, as all the animals appeared in earlier questions. There are no answers, which may please some readers but will vex others. It’s a strange, ill-suited book, one that eats away at readers as they contemplate the logic behind the questions, the artistic approach, and the development of the story. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Odd and off-putting. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-59211-208-1
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Histria Kids
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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