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TEN SILLY DOGS

Name: TEN SILLY DOGS
Author: Lisa Flather
ISBN: 0-531-30192-3

A COUNTDOWN STORY

by Lisa Flather ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1999

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In a backwards counting story, Flather follows ten boisterous canines on their daily excursion. Readers observe as the gang of adventurous pups dwindles from ten to one as each dog becomes distracted during the mad dash around town. The lure of chasing one’s own tail, being too hot to trot, and a passing bee are some of the whimsical diversions. Jaunty rhymes relate the action and demonstrate a wry appreciation of canine idiosyncrasies. “Four silly dogs/are climbing/ the stairs./If one fuzzy dog/just stops and stares,/then there are three/climbing the stairs.” Every numeral introduced is highlighted in a bright red box. The full-page, richly hued illustrations capture in energetic lines dogs at play. (Picture book. 2-5)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-531-30192-3

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Orchard

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
BABY'S BOOK OF NATURE
by Roger Priddy & illustrated by Lisa Flather

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FLAPPY WAGGY WIGGLY

A PEEKABOO RIDDLE BOOK

by Amanda Leslie ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1999

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Pint-sized sleuths use written and visual clues to discover the identities of their quarry in this diverting and ingenious approach to the standard lift-the-flap format. Each spread features a riddle, written in multicolored block letters, superimposed over the image of the animal in question, revealing only a tantalizing glimpse of the creature’s front and hind quarters. Additional clues are provided by the particular sound associated with the animal—perhaps a quack, an oink, or a hiss. A turn of the half page in the center of the spread reveals the full animal and its name overhead. Leslie’s riddles offer concrete clues while remaining silly enough to tickle preschoolers’ fancies: “Who has a snuffly pink snout and a curly whirly tail?” Vivid backgrounds, generous use of colors, and amiable creatures contribute to this gleeful tour of the animal kingdom. (Picture book. 2-5)

Pub Date: May 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-525-46182-5

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

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THE FATHER WHO HAD TEN CHILDREN

by Bénédicte Guettier ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1999

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From Belgium, a kooky take on parenthood. As was the case with the old woman who lived in a shoe, a father has ten children and hardly knows what to do. Ten children mean ten of everything: ten breakfasts, ten pairs of underpants, ten t-shirts, ten jeans, not to mention twenty little socks and shoes. Every night he stays up late building a secret boat to sail around the world “all by himself . . . for ten days, or maybe even ten months.” After one day and night alone, he prepares his first solitary breakfast, automatically setting out ten cups, which makes him miss his children terribly. Soon after, father and his ten little mateys merrily set sail around the world. Large white backgrounds transform into a pleasingly turquoise sea as father sets sail; fat black outlines circumnavigate simple, round cheery shapes of the ten, wide-eyed, pink-faced cherubs, in a bright, refreshing style that shares a sensibility with Lucy Cousins’s art. The lone sailboat afloat in the ocean is a deliberate contrast to the clutter and confusion of life with ten children.(Picture book. 2-5)