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PUDDLE PUG

Sweet and muddy—err, sunny.

Are the pigs’ digs big enough for both a porcine family and a mud-loving pug?

Percy the pug loves puddles, the muddier the better. He even makes a map of his favorite puddles so he can find them easily. One day, he hears splashing on the other side of the fence and, peering through, sees the perfect puddle. He sneaks in under the fence and begins some serious splashing. The resident piglets don’t seem to mind, but the big sow glowers at him, and in no time, Percy is back outside the fence. Now all the old puddles seem inadequate. Every time he tries to sneak back, Mama sends him packing. A severe rainstorm changes everything: A tree crashes into the wallow, and all the pigs are displaced. Worse, tiny Petunia is missing. It’s Percy who comes to the rescue, finding the missing piglet thanks to his map of puddles. Reunited with Petunia, Mama’s whole body twitches “with piggly jiggly joy.” From then on, Percy is able to enjoy his very favorite puddle. This playful, accessible friendship story features some nice vocabulary choices, and its sly use of voice puts readers in Percy’s paws: “But his puddle did not love him back”—that big old sow is never mentioned. Partaking of an animation aesthetic, Yamaguchi’s pencil-and–digital paint illustrations are simple and clean, the animals adorable.

Sweet and muddy—err, sunny. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: April 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-4549-0436-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sterling

Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014

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YOU ARE HOME WITH ME

Instills a sense of well-being in youngsters while encouraging them to explore the natural world.

This reassuring picture book exemplifies how parents throughout the animal kingdom make homes for their offspring.

The narrative is written from the point of view of a parent talking to their child: “If you were a beaver, I would gnaw on trees with my teeth to build a cozy lodge for us to sleep in during the day.” Text appears in big, easy-to-read type, with the name of the creature in boldface. Additional facts about the animal appear in a smaller font, such as: “Beavers have transparent eyelids to help them see under water.” The gathering of land, air, and water animals includes a raven, a flying squirrel, and a sea lion. “Home” might be a nest, a den, or a burrow. One example, of a blue whale who has homes in the north and south (ocean is implied), will help children stretch the concept into feeling at home in the larger world. Illustrations of the habitats have an inviting luminosity. Mature and baby animals are realistically depicted, although facial features appear to have been somewhat softened, perhaps to appeal to young readers. The book ends with the comforting scene of a human parent and child silhouetted in the welcoming lights of the house they approach: “Wherever you may be, you will always have a home with me.”

Instills a sense of well-being in youngsters while encouraging them to explore the natural world. (Informational picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-63217-224-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Little Bigfoot/Sasquatch

Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019

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WHERE IS MY PINK SWEATER?

A sweet and subtle book on sharing.

Rudy’s pink sweater is missing. Readers are invited to follow him as he searches for the sweater.

Rudy is a blue creature with a piggy snout, bunny ears, a thin, tufted tail, and a distraught look on his face. His beloved pink sweater is gone. “It was a bit too small and showed his belly button. But it was his favorite.” Where could it be? In a search that doubles as a countdown from 10 to one, Rudy makes his way through the different rooms of the house—top to bottom, inside and outside. As readers open the wardrobe door, “TEN tumbling cats” provide the first hint as to the sweater’s whereabouts. Following the pink yarn that runs across the pages, readers encounter some surprising creatures in each location—including a crocodile sitting in an outhouse busily knitting—as well as flaps to open and die cuts to peek through. Just as he’s about to give up hope—someone must’ve taken it, but “who would love wearing it as much as he did?”—the answer is revealed: “Trudy! His number ONE sister. The sweater fit her perfectly.” And, as is the nature of stories with a happy ending, Rudy gets a new sweater that fits him, from the knitting crocodile, of course. Plot, interactivity, vocabulary, and counting all contribute in making this an engaging book for the upper edge of the board-book range.

A sweet and subtle book on sharing. (Board book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4197-3679-7

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Abrams Appleseed

Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019

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