Wall’s cheery, flat, brightly colored illustrations are neatly suited to this naïve rendering of the age-old dilemma of...
Human Sophie and goose Goose are best friends; they do everything together, but needless to say, in some respects they are not compatible.
Sophie can’t fly, and she’s not fond of goose food, but in other ways they are best buds and share many a cup of tea. Sophie is worried that Goose gets lonely when she is away at school, so she tries to think of a solution. Then she has a brainstorm: maybe she can find a friend for Goose at the zoo! Unsurprisingly, however, most of the animals are not ideal friends: the giraffe can’t fly, and the crocodile tries to take a friendly bite out of the innocent bird. Flamingos are just plain boring. The pair is despondent, until they hear a familiar chorus of honks: lots of other geese, just like Sophie’s friend! Goose flies off happily, leaving Sophie a little bit lonely. However Goose is a faithful friend and returns with newfound friends to check in with Sophie. Towheaded Caucasian Sophie is clad in a red dress and, like many a simply drawn picture-book protagonist before her, has no discernible mouth; her stark-white face and blonde locks mirror Goose’s white feathers and yellow beak and feet, establishing a firm connection between the friends. This simple tale, with resonances of many other unlikely animal-child friendship stories, is told in an engaging manner.
Wall’s cheery, flat, brightly colored illustrations are neatly suited to this naïve rendering of the age-old dilemma of friendship: how to enjoy others’ company in spite of different tastes and habits. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-232441-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2015
The message is wholehearted and positive, but the cloying execution doesn’t stand out.
A parent koala encourages its child to engage in every pursuit, and so do several other animals.
The British celebrity author, host of both children’s and adult TV programs, has a very positive message to spread, but there is nothing original in the lightweight text. The many animal characters pictured in diverting, fuzzy-edged illustrations engage in various activities as the text encourages them. “You can sing! If you love to sing, sing. / Shout at the top of your lungs, or whisper soft and sweet.” On verso, a frog quartet harmonizes, while across the gutter, a lion is shown with open mouth roaring as a small bird presumably whispers. Using rhyme and alliteration but without real poetic consistency, lines such as these appear: “You can share. You can care. You can create. You can learn. / You can wonder. You can wander.” The pink flamingo creating a fantastic dessert with pineapple rings is an appealing image, and children will enjoy seeing the cuddly baby koala throughout the book as other animals step up for their showcase. The fantasy-forest setting and its animals will keep small children engaged, but the sweetness comes with a significant aftertaste of treacle. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.5-by-19-inch double-page spreads viewed at 34.5% of actual size.)
The message is wholehearted and positive, but the cloying execution doesn’t stand out. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-18141-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
A smart, stealth bedtime tale.
A brown bear tries his best to slumber through winter.
Winter has come, and the snow has begun to pile high. Deep in his cave Bear tosses and turns, unable to fall asleep. Mouse arrives to check on his friend’s hibernation and is startled to find Bear still awake. Mouse brews some tea, but when that doesn’t work, Mouse enlists other woodland critters to help get bear to sleep. Lullabies, warm milk, and bedtime tales ensue. Bear and his pals are presented in Chapman’s trademark warm-colored, thin-lined illustrations, which flip-flop between double-page spreads and full-bleed, full-page illustrations opposed by vignettes in ovals. Scenes in Bear’s cozy den, his growing band of animal friends gathered in concern, have a rustic charm; one illustration, in which all the animals “hum,” depicts them with mouths open wide, but it’s so doggone cute readers won’t quibble. The text is composed in rhythmic, rhyming verse, paced to slowly but surely get little readers to feel their eyelids begin to weigh just a little bit more with each turn of the page; the refrain, variations on “And the bear / can’t / sleep!” will have readers chiming in before the final page quotes Bear’s first outing and provides resolution: “but the bear / snores / on!” Many little ones will be ready to turn in afterward as well.
A smart, stealth bedtime tale. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5973-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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