A sweet slice of rural American canine life.
A lovable bird dog points the way to outdoor fun in the country in this children’s book.
Harkey (The Budding Staff, 2005) presents a playful collection of stories narrated by a German short-haired pointer named Doc (his pedigree name is Chicoree’s Hickory Doc). The oldest in a family of five, good ol’ Doc spins colorful tales about quail-hunting dogs—like his daughter, Patch, who is the best tracker of all—in rural Oklahoma. Then there’s Doc’s laughably snooty little brother, Zeke, who brags about being kin to royalty because his coat is speckled instead of a “common” liver brown like Doc’s. The two brothers vie for the affections of Sly, a graceful bird dog with an impressive pedigree. Featuring other silly characters, such as a clumsy Labrador retriever named Newt, the tales reveal that life at the Lazy Dog Hacienda is full of giggly high jinks and an occasional snout of porcupine quills. There are scary moments, though, as when Big Bad Carl—the meanest hunter ever—steals Patch. And there’s some intrigue, including the mystery of the missing dog food. While conventional black-and-white drawings of big-eyed canines precede the chapters, they add little excitement to the stories (aimed at elementary school readers). But catchy chapter titles, like “Hamburgers, Fries, Caesar Salad, and Temptation,” and boldface subtitles break the prose into eye-appealing sections. With a voice that’s as friendly as a neighbor at the door with a pecan pie, Doc’s down-home dialogue is sprinkled with references that many kids should like. For example, he uses fast food to describe the scent of quails: “Well, I can tell you they smell like no other smell—sort of a cross between chicken nuggets and fries.” When he’s around Zeke, Doc acts like a human brother; for example, they have staring contests. For those who aren’t squeamish about dogs eating pig ears for snacks, this collection gently—and respectfully—offers the basics of quail hunting: during the “off season,” the birds “need to rest and repopulate.” Harkey accents the prose with short, memorable landscape descriptions: wind that’s always blowing and prairie grass way taller than the dogs.
A sweet slice of rural American canine life.Pub Date: July 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4808-4723-1
Page Count: 116
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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