by Lois Ehlert & illustrated by Lois Ehlert ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1993
Another handsome book from an innovative graphic designer and Caldecott Honor Medalist. Spritely (if unexceptional) verse describes an inquisitive squirrel venturing from tree to birdfeeder to window box ("He's in the flowers, / he's really bad. / He's digging up bulbs. / My mom is mad!") and through a torn screen into the narrator's apartment—from which he's lured out again with peanuts on the sidewalk. The main event here is the vibrant, boldly stylized art: the gray squirrel is silhouetted against the building's richly dappled and shadowed red brick, festooned with flowers. Each species—potted fuchsia, sturdy dandelion, house finch, or ladybug—is discretely captioned; additional information on squirrels appears at the end. A delightfully playful touch: the title page and CIP, cropped to little more than an inch, are hidden on the verso of two strips of the squirrel tree's bark. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-15-257647-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1993
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
Share your opinion of this book
Did you like this book?
More by Lois Ehlert
BOOK REVIEW
by Lois Ehlert ; illustrated by Lois Ehlert
BOOK REVIEW
by Lois Ehlert ; illustrated by Lois Ehlert
BOOK REVIEW
by Lois Ehlert ; illustrated by Lois Ehlert
by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010
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. 29, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
Share your opinion of this book
Did you like this book?
More by Craig Smith
BOOK REVIEW
by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley
BOOK REVIEW
by Doug MacLeod ; illustrated by Craig Smith
BOOK REVIEW
by Adam Osterweil and illustrated by Craig Smith
by Jon Klassen ; illustrated by Jon Klassen ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 13, 2021
If Samuel Beckett had written an early reader, it might look something like this one.
In the first of five chapters, Klassen places his now-familiar turtle and armadillo (wearing bowler hats) on a minimalist gray/green landscape with one flower and—on the facing page—one plant. Personalities are revealed through occasional, slow movement across the gutter together with color-coded dialogue that feels as if it is being invented in the moment, sans script. Turtle is inflexible, not wanting to relocate, even when Armadillo moves farther away after a bad feeling about the space. It is only when Snake (sporting a beret) appears near the mammal that Turtle joins them—just in time: A huge asteroid falls on the vacated spot. Readers have watched it coming, suspense effectively building as they turn the pages. In subsequent episodes, Armadillo attempts to be helpful; miscommunication abounds; and Turtle is stubborn, proud, and jealous of the unspeaking snake, now near the rock: “I see how it is. Just enough room for two.” Turtle playing the martyr: “Maybe I will never come back.” As daylight turns into a striking, rose-tinged sunset and then a starlit evening, a life-zapping extraterrestrial (created previously in Armadillo’s futuristic forest fantasy) stalks Turtle. At the last minute, a second asteroid annihilates the creature. Klassen’s animals react to their seemingly absurd—but never tragic—universe with characteristically subtle, humorous postures and eye maneuvers. The weirdness of it all exerts its own attractive force, drawing readers back to it to wonder and ponder.
Waiting for Godot imagined for the playground population’s sensibilities. (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1562-5
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
Share your opinion of this book
Did you like this book?
More by Amy Timberlake
BOOK REVIEW
by Amy Timberlake ; illustrated by Jon Klassen
BOOK REVIEW
by Mac Barnett ; illustrated by Jon Klassen
BOOK REVIEW
by Mac Barnett ; illustrated by Jon Klassen
More About This Book
PERSPECTIVES
© 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
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!