Readers will hope to see more of Henry Bear
Henry Bear’s parents have been entirely too much “fun” since he wished them so on his last birthday; on this birthday, he knows exactly what to wish for.
Mama and Papa Bear beg him to stay up past bedtime. “Just ten more minutes?…Pleeeeease?” Yawning, Henry Bear gets out of bed to play with his parents. They want to climb trees (“Higher!”), play on the swings, and ride bikes—but tomorrow is a school day, Henry Bear reminds them, and he puts himself to bed. Mama Bear serves chocolate cake for breakfast, and his parents suggest they all stay home and watch TV. Mama says school is boring, but Henry rushes off. At school he meets a new girl named Marjani, who appears to be dressed in a shalwar kameez with hijab. They become friends, and Henry Bear invites her over for his birthday. It’s a good thing she comes, because Mama Bear serves a big bowl of candy—no cake, since they “always” have that!—but thank goodness, Marjani brings him a cupcake with a candle on top. Henry Bear is lovable, and his humorous dilemma will resonate with any child who has ever wished their parents were more fun. The illustrations are simple yet sophisticated, with a distinct mustard-slate-brick color palette and multiple patterns. Henry Bear’s European-inspired town of cobblestone and tile roofs is the perfect setting for this funny, playful tale.
Readers will hope to see more of Henry Bear . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 30, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62672-332-0
Page Count: 45
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy.
Robo-parents Diode and Lugnut present daughter Cathode with a new little brother—who requires, unfortunately, some assembly.
Arriving in pieces from some mechanistic version of Ikea, little Flange turns out to be a cute but complicated tyke who immediately falls apart…and then rockets uncontrollably about the room after an overconfident uncle tinkers with his basic design. As a squad of helpline techies and bevies of neighbors bearing sludge cake and like treats roll in, the cluttered and increasingly crowded scene deteriorates into madcap chaos—until at last Cath, with help from Roomba-like robodog Sprocket, stages an intervention by whisking the hapless new arrival off to a backyard workshop for a proper assembly and software update. “You’re such a good big sister!” warbles her frazzled mom. Wiesner’s robots display his characteristic clean lines and even hues but endearingly look like vaguely anthropomorphic piles of random jet-engine parts and old vacuum cleaners loosely connected by joints of armored cable. They roll hither and thither through neatly squared-off panels and pages in infectiously comical dismay. Even the end’s domestic tranquility lasts only until Cathode spots the little box buried in the bigger one’s packing material: “TWINS!” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
A retro-futuristic romp, literally and figuratively screwy. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-544-98731-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
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