Ehlert combines her iconic cut-paper images of fruits and vegetables with some text-speak to create a rebus story for Valentine’s Day.
The picture-book form and its content don’t mesh all that well, as this describes a romantic love rather than that between two friends or a parent and child. “Do U [carrot] all 4 me? // [peas] give a sign or Q. // [Heart] talks r not EZ, // i [leaf] it up 2u. // But if my plea suc[seeds], // n U say ok, // we could [celery]brate— // N then mayB // r 2 [hearts] //could [beet] as 1 // someday.” Still, there aren’t many children who are not familiar with like sentiments on the ubiquitous seasonal heart-shaped candies, and they will not be able to resist chiming in to name the familiar foods or, if they know their letters and numbers, call out the ones that stand for whole words. Each spread is a different vibrant color that neatly complements the colors of the objects and text on the pages. And the tiny trim size (just under 6 inches square) makes this an intimate book for sharing one-on-one (or an extra-clever valentine for teens and adults to give).
Rebuses get a text update for a modern love note. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8087-1
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
Did you like this book?
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
Did you like this book?
SEEN & HEARD
All the animals are welcome to come aboard.
Hedgehog seems very lonely, “curled up in a prickly little ball in a lonely little nook of a lonely little tree.” When she overhears a sympathetic conversation about friendship “out there,” she perks up, picturing a beautiful “Friend Ship.” Hedgehog sets sail with a curious beaver in a small boat to find it. Before long, the duo spots a herd of migrating deer on the shore. Hedgehog asks if they’ve seen the Friend Ship; all reply that they could use a friend and hop aboard. Next, the company spies a rat, who asks to join them. They sail in multiple directions to no avail. Hedgehog begins to lose hope, but her companions convince her to persist. She spots a small island, its only resident an elephant. Hedgehog swims the distance and asks the elephant about the Friend Ship. The elephant points at Hedgehog’s small boat full of animals and asks, “Isn’t that it—right over there?” It’s a lightning-bolt moment. Hedgehog invites the elephant aboard, and they sail west, celebrating all the while…into the sunset together. Yeh makes effective use of dialogue and repetition, investing her characters with personality with just a few lines. Groenink employs sunny, warm hues that increase in saturation as the boat fills and Hedgehog becomes surrounded by friends.
A sweet, simple story with a nicely offbeat heroine. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-0726-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
Did you like this book?
© Copyright 2021 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
