This rapid-fire reboot of a traditional favorite will be a requested read-aloud for high-energy listeners.
When the class goes on a field trip to the fire station, the Gingerbread Man is carried along in a child’s backpack. He falls, unexpectedly, onto the snout of the firehouse dog, Spot the Dalmatian.
In emergency mode, the well-known cookie streaks athletically through the firehouse, with the hungry pup at his heels. “I’ll run and I’ll dodge, / As fast as I can. / I’m not a dog bone! I’m the / Gingerbread Man!” He runs past his classmates, who are trying on all the firefighting gear. The chase continues with an up-close view of the truck, the crew’s tightly made beds, the five-alarm chili cooking in the kitchen and, of course, the fire pole. When a true alarm blares, the little man jumps onto the fire truck for more adventures. Murray’s vigorous rhythms stay at full speed throughout, keeping up with Lowery’s action-filled illustrations. This duo debuted with The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School (2011), and this sequel doesn’t disappoint. With illustrations done in pencil, screen printing and digital color, the new makeover for the speedy gingerbread man succeeds despite a completely stereotypical fire station. Thankfully, female Fire Chief Anne rewards the little hero and his classmates with helmets from Company Four.
This rapid-fire reboot of a traditional favorite will be a requested read-aloud for high-energy listeners. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-399-25779-7
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
See, hear, touch, taste, smell...and imagine poetry all around you.
A neighborhood walk unleashes the power of poetry.
Kiyoshi, a boy of Japanese heritage, watches his poet grandfather, Eto, write a poem in calligraphy. Intrigued, Kiyoshi asks, “Where do poems come from?” So begins a meditative walk through their bustling neighborhood, in which Kiyoshi discovers how to use his senses, his power of observation, and his imagination to build a poem. After each scene, Eto jots down a quick poem that serves as both a creative activity and an instruction for Kiyoshi. Eventually Kiyoshi discovers his own poetic voice, and together the boy and his grandfather find poems all around them. Spare, precise prose is coupled with the haiku Kiyoshi and his grandfather create, building the story through each new scene to expand Kiyoshi’s understanding of the origin of poems. Sensory language, such as flicked, whooshed, peeked, and reeled, not only builds readers’ vocabulary, but also models the vitality and precision of creative writing. The illustrations are just as thoughtfully crafted. Precisely rendered, the artwork is soft, warm, and captivating, offering vastly different perspectives and diverse characters who make up an apparently North American neighborhood that feels both familiar and new for a boy discovering how to view the world the way a poet does. Earth tones, coupled with bright yellows, pinks, and greens, draw readers in and encourage them to linger over each spread. An author’s note provides additional information about haiku.
See, hear, touch, taste, smell...and imagine poetry all around you. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-62014-958-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A quirky, fun story that will appeal to young audiences looking for a little bit of scare, with a premise so good it...
A tiger can’t believe it’s being upstaged in this picture-book riff on William Blake’s famous poem.
A group of zoologically diverse animals huddle around a fire, listening to a porcupine read from a chilling poem: “Bunnies, bunnies, burning bright, / in the forests of the night—.” An incredulous tiger interrupts, saying that the poem is actually about it. But a squirrel matter-of-factly states that “Here, it’s ‘bunnies, bunnies.’ ” The tiger still doesn’t understand why the animals would be so afraid of bunnies but not afraid of tigers and tries to explain why it, an apex predator, is far more threatening. The smaller animals remain unimpressed, calmly telling the tiger that “In this forest, we fear the bunny” and that it should “Hide now, before it’s too late.” An amusing and well-done premise slightly disappoints at the climax, with the tiger streaking away in terror before a horde of headlamp-wearing bunnies, but eager readers never learn what, exactly, the bunnies would do if they caught up. But at the end, a group of tigers joins the other animals in their awestruck reading of the adapted Blake poem, included in full at the end. Cute, fuzzy illustrations contrast nicely with the dark tone and forest background.
A quirky, fun story that will appeal to young audiences looking for a little bit of scare, with a premise so good it overcomes a weak conclusion. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7800-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
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