Somewhat simplistic in both art and story arc but good for a chuckle or two in early storytimes and for those just beginning...
What can you say about a title that includes three exclamation points? That it is full of pastel colors, that its hero is a monster called Declan (named only on the cover flap) and that it has very few words.
Declan is light blue with darker blue polka dots and has orange horns and a pink puffball at the end of his tail, and he greets everything: trees, clouds, butterflies and—bunnies!!! Four bunnies (peach, mint green, pink and blue) are quite startled by his enthusiasm; in fact, they flee it. Declan is crestfallen. He listlessly continues through the woods, saying hello limply to rock and stump and slug until he sees the foursome again, and they once again dash out of sight. Declan sadly greets a log and then the dirt and is drifting off into a sleepy funk when the bunnies approach, realizing he will not hurt them. They tap him on the back, and he wakes to spin them around and dance and play. But wait! Soon he is distracted by birdies! The birdies are pretty startled, too. Declan definitely has a toddler’s personality, especially one who finds his energy is overwhelming for some playmates. His friendship drama plays out in a mix of horizontal panels, full-page illustrations and double-page spreads (when he is at his most manic).
Somewhat simplistic in both art and story arc but good for a chuckle or two in early storytimes and for those just beginning to pick out words—like BUNNIES!!! (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-230783-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
The runaway cookie in this Mexican bakery is a soft, brown, stubby-tailed piglet as impertinently bold and smug in his continual escape as his Gingerbread Boy cousin. “Chase me! Chase me down the street. But this is one piggy you won’t get to eat! / ¡Córrele, córrele! ¡Y Córrele más! ¡Soy el cochinito que jamás comerás!” This bouncy dual refrain extends the familiar cumulative text, rendered in both English and Spanish, as piggy manages to elude Marta the baker, Lorenzo the mechanic, Mamá Nita the beautician, Joaquín the telephone repairman and a host of other neighborhood adults—until he is outsmarted by Rosa, a little girl on her way to school, who foxily “helps him” cross the street. Safely tucked into her backpack, piggy is both a welcome surprise and an excuse for Rosa’s lateness to class. Deep opaque acrylic paintings of a colorful barrio and its residents in pursuit add the right amount of cultural flavor to this vivid Latino retelling. Recipe appended. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-55885-586-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2010
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