by Lisa Jahn-Clough & illustrated by Lisa Jahn-Clough ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 15, 2011
Jahn-Clough’s low-key tale of friendship breaks no new ground but is pleasantly quirky nonetheless. Felicity and Cordelia are bunny best friends. When Felicity, the tall, grey one, decides to go hot-air ballooning, short, brown Cordelia decides to keep her feet firmly on the ground. Felicity promises to write every day, and pie-baking Cordelia asks her to head home soon. An unfortunate (but not too scary) accident strands Felicity “far away.” Once she realizes she can’t figure out how to fix the balloon, Felicity comes up with the perfect way to get back home, much to Cordelia’s relief. The expressively childlike illustrations are as straightforward as the plot. The bunnies are simply drawn with heavy black outlines. Settings vary from pastoral sweeps of green fields and blue skies to cozy, brightly colored interiors with limited detail. Perspectives are flat, though scratchy shading is used to indicate texture. The bunnies’ differences are played up amusingly in both words and pictures, but there’s still not enough here to make Felicity and Cordelia stand out from the odd-couple crowd—though Felicity’s letters home lend themselves nicely to classroom application. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-32300-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2011
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by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010
Hee haw.
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The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley
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by Christopher Denise ; illustrated by Christopher Denise ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2022
A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn.
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A young owl achieves his grand ambition.
Owl, an adorably earnest and gallant little owlet, dreams of being a knight. He imagines himself defeating dragons and winning favor far and wide through his brave exploits. When a record number of knights go missing, Owl applies to Knight School and is surprisingly accepted. He is much smaller than the other knights-in-training, struggles to wield weapons, and has “a habit of nodding off during the day.” Nevertheless, he graduates and is assigned to the Knight Night Watch. While patrolling the castle walls one night, a hungry dragon shows up and Owl must use his wits to avoid meeting a terrible end. The result is both humorous and heartwarming, offering an affirmation of courage and clear thinking no matter one’s size…and demonstrating the power of a midnight snack. The story never directly addresses the question of the missing knights, but it is hinted that they became the dragon’s fodder, leaving readers to question Owl’s decision to befriend the beast. Humor is supplied by the characters’ facial expressions and accented by the fact that Owl is the only animal in his order of big, burly human knights. Denise’s accomplished digital illustrations—many of which are full bleeds—often use a warm sepia palette that evokes a feeling of antiquity, and some spreads feature a pleasing play of chiaroscuro that creates suspense and drama.
A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-31062-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
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by Anitra Rowe Schulte ; illustrated by Christopher Denise
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by Maryrose Wood ; illustrated by Christopher Denise
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by Anika Denise ; illustrated by Christopher Denise
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