Though clearly a message about the dangers of overscheduling children, the lesson goes down easily; caregivers may even take...
Flo is the smallest member of a large family of overprogrammed pandas.
She is intensely curious and easily distracted. She explores “the immense and mysterious sea” in her bathtub, eccentrically dressed in a woolen cap and snorkel. While getting ready for the day she dances to whale song. The other pandas have been waiting for her for a while. They are dressed in sporty garb and holding unicycles. They wait while Flo works her way through a large stack of pancakes and savors the last strawberry. When she finally joins the others, they show her their elaborate schedule for the week, with myriad activities listed. Flo’s personal activities consist of greeting birds, clouds, butterflies, and roses with exquisite good cheer: “Hello, Roses that I would like to stop and smell.” When the other pandas give up and abandon her for their next scheduled activity, which ends in mild calamity, readers won’t be surprised that it’s Flo who comes to the rescue. The deadpan text works beautifully with speech balloons that extend characterizations. Fleck’s whimsical, bold, bright, acrylic illustrations set the tone perfectly for this lighthearted tale, Flo and the other pandas standing out against muted pastels. Flo is distinguished from the other pandas by accessories, her size, and her smile.
Though clearly a message about the dangers of overscheduling children, the lesson goes down easily; caregivers may even take note. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-374-30526-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
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The familiar singsong repetitiveness is catchy in all settings, holiday or otherwise.
A hoppy, snappy Easter version of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.
Three young tots, with varied skin tones and baskets ready in their hands, eagerly scamper on a spring day to find some eggs. But of course, they meet hindrances along the way. “Ooh, look … // Chickens! / Flapping, pecking chickens.” Thus starts the rolling refrain: “Can’t go over them. / Can’t go under them. / Can’t go around them. // Got to go through them!” The waddling chickens don’t pose much of an obstacle, but they do “Cluck-cluck!” loudly as they scatter in the sun. The three youngsters then must face “fluffy, hungry bunnies” (adorable long-eared puffballs with carrot fronds in their mouths) and “happy, hopping frogs” as they balance on stones to cross a pond. All of this leads to a garden bursting with colorful flowers (“Rustle-swish! / Rustle-swish!”) and finally…10 eggs in pastel patterns. Each egg has a number on it to encourage readers to count along and strengthen their numeracy skills. Rozelaar’s plump and rounded world, with roly-poly trees, flowers, and hills, wraps the tale in coziness.
The familiar singsong repetitiveness is catchy in all settings, holiday or otherwise. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9798887771304
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
The book is available in just about every format--but this is the perfect one.
It's hard to believe that a pop-up wasn't the creators' original intention, so seamlessly do moveable parts dovetail into this modern classic's storyline.
In contrast to the tale's 1998 pop -up version, the figures here move on every page, and with an unusually graceful naturalism to boot. From pulling down Big Nutbrown Hare's ears on the opening spread to make sure he's listening to drowsily turning his head to accept a final good-night kiss in a multi-leveled pull-down tableau at the close, all of Little Nutbrown Hare's hops, stretches and small gestures serve the poetically spare text—as do Big Nutbrown's wider, higher responses to his charge's challenges. As readers turn a flap to read Big Nutbrown's "But I love you this much," his arms extend to demonstrate. The emotional connection between the two hares is clearer than ever in Jeram's peaceful, restrained outdoor scenes, which are slightly larger than those in the trade edition, and the closing scene is made even more intimate by hiding the closing line ("I love you right up to the moon—and back") until an inconspicuous flap is opened up.
The book is available in just about every format--but this is the perfect one. (Pop-up picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5378-1
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2011
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