A lovely, funny story about friendship and finding confidence.
Under a tall maple tree, a young Japanese girl reading stories attracts some animal companions.
Though Yuka can read on her own now that she’s in first grade, she loves listening to her mother tell stories in different voices. When her new baby brother arrives, her mother is too busy to read her stories, so Yuka tries to find someone else to read to her. When no one is willing or able, Yuka rests under a large maple tree in the little forest growing in her neighborhood. Though Yuka usually dislikes the sound of her voice, there’s no one around, so she starts to read a story aloud. Soon, a squirrel, a rabbit, a monkey, and other creatures come to listen to her stories and request more stories that feature animals like them. Inspired by different folk and fairy tales, Yuka starts to write her own stories and even enjoys reading aloud to her new animal friends. This latest in the Forest Friends series is another charming tale about talking animals and unexpected friendships. The animals’ opinions and commentary are fun and add a comedic element. Readers may be spurred to read aloud and create their own stories. The cute, whimsical illustrations switch from black and white to color, adding a touch of playfulness. This Japanese import highlights a couple of Japanese folktales and other folk and fairy tales from around the world.
A lovely, funny story about friendship and finding confidence. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-940842-66-0
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Museyon
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity.
Buzz and his buzzy buddy open a spinoff series of nonfiction early readers with an aquarium visit.
Buzz: “Like other fish, sharks breathe through gills.” Fly Guy: “GILLZZ.” Thus do the two pop-eyed cartoon tour guides squire readers past a plethora of cramped but carefully labeled color photos depicting dozens of kinds of sharks in watery settings, along with close-ups of skin, teeth and other anatomical features. In the bite-sized blocks of narrative text, challenging vocabulary words like “carnivores” and “luminescence” come with pronunciation guides and lucid in-context definitions. Despite all the flashes of dentifrice and references to prey and smelling blood in the water, there is no actual gore or chowing down on display. Sharks are “so cool!” proclaims Buzz at last, striding out of the gift shop. “I can’t wait for our next field trip!” (That will be Fly Guy Presents: Space, scheduled for September 2013.)
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity. (Informational easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-50771-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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