Mrs. Hippopotamus is the Greta Garbo of hippos. She likes her peace and quiet, and just wants to be alone. She places her hut far from the other hippos’ huts. Each night she takes a bath in a solitary spot on the beach while her seaweed pudding is baking. Imagine her shock when she finds a monkey fishing at her beach! Depressed, she goes without a bath. Her next idea is to build a sort of Victorian bathing booth so she can bathe in privacy within the confines of this structure. Unfortunately, after putting dinner in the oven, she discovers all the hippos love her building, making it very noisy. Upon returning home, the beach where all the hippos live is empty, and she has a lovely, long, peaceful soak. Mrs. Hippo is a problem-solver, a quiet character who continues to treasure her solitude. The fact that Landström allows her character to enjoy herself without becoming social is unique in picture books, even though the end suggests that she might come around. Landström’s illustrations are as always gently evocative with piquant touches of humor. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: April 6, 2007
ISBN: 91-29-66603-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: R&S/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2007
Too many bugs, figuratively.
Lucy, “the youngest member of a family of fireflies,” must overcome an irrational, moon-induced anxiety in order to leave her family tree trunk and glow.
The first six pages pull readers into a lush, beautiful world of nighttime: “When the sun has set, silence falls over the Big Forest, and all of the nighttime animals wake up.” Mixed media provide an enchanting forest background, with stylized flora and fauna eventually illuminated by a large, benign moon, because the night “doesn’t like to catch them by surprise.” Turning the page catches readers by surprise, though: the family of fireflies is decidedly comical and silly-looking. Similarly, the text moves from a lulling, magical cadence to a distinct shift in mood as the bugs ready themselves for their foray into the night: “They wave their bottoms in the air, wiggle their feelers, take a deep, deep breath, and sing, ‘Here we go, it’s time to glow!’ ” It’s an acceptable change, but more unevenness follows. Lucy’s excitement about finally joining the other bugs turns to “sobbing” two nights in a row. Instead of directly linking her behavior to understandable reactions of children to newness, the text undermines itself by making Lucy’s parents’ sweet reassurances impotent and using the grandmother’s scientific explanation of moonlight as an unnecessary metaphor. Further detracting from the story, the text becomes ever denser and more complex over the book’s short span.
Too many bugs, figuratively. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-84-16147-00-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cuento de Luz
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
Practical, if somewhat fluffy, bedtime guidance, hampered by muddled prose.
In actor Mendes’ debut picture book, an anxious young sleeper learns to overcome scary nighttime thoughts with help from Mami.
A cry shatters the peaceful night. “MAMI! There’s a monster under my bed!” Mami rushes to Desi’s room, where no monsters await. Instead, worries plague the young girl. Is Desi’s brain the real monster? Mami quells those fears. After all, the brain holds many jobs (“learning new things, solving problems”), but sometimes it brings unwanted thoughts, almost like a bully. With encouragement from her mom, Desi realizes that she’s the boss of her rogue mind. She can try to separate herself from pushy thoughts to feel calm; she can even blow negative thoughts away with the might of positive ones. It just takes a little patience. Brava! Perhaps bedtime isn’t so scary. Mendes tackles the delicate matter of nighttime woes—familiar to children and adults alike—with compassion, framing her tale as a discussion between mother and daughter. The often clunky text disrupts the otherwise serene tone. Still, though the advice is a bit pat, many readers will find it useful. Rich with purples, blues, and pinks among interludes of puffy white clouds, Bryant’s pitch-perfect artwork serves the text well; Desi’s anthropomorphic brain, clad in a nightcap, is an especially fun addition. Desi and Mami read Latine.
Practical, if somewhat fluffy, bedtime guidance, hampered by muddled prose. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9781250867438
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
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