bookshelf

KATY DID IT!

Name: KATY DID IT!
Author: Lorianne Siomades
ISBN: 978-1-59078-602-4

by Lorianne Siomades & illustrated by Lorianne Siomades ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2009

bookshelf

This energetic katydid is quite the nuisance, her hopping wreaking havoc among the garden plants. With a “Boing / Boing / Boing… ‘Uh-oh!’ ” Katy scatters pollen, frightens away aphids and tangles a spider’s web. Her bothersome little sib Lou tattles at each opportunity, leading to Katy’s plaintive, repeated cry, “But I didn’t mean to!” There is humor in the details, as the neighborhood ants carry an array of food, including broccoli, nuts and lemons, upon their backs for their family feast. Katy finds redemption when a runaway olive blocks the door to the ants’ family home; her bouncing catapults the morsel off the page. The repetitive text energizes this small tale, though the narrative’s abruptness detracts somewhat from the adventure. Digitally rendered illustrations utilize texture and perspectives to convey Katy’s varying emotions, but the characters’ exaggerated expressions and anthropomorphized positions often result in an awkward presentation. The four-legged ’dids will further confound young entomologists. A stark white backdrop stunts the bright colors found in this garden view, leaving a wilted offering in its wake. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-59078-602-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Boyds Mills

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2009

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
WHERE WILD BABIES SLEEP
by Ann Purmell & illustrated by Lorianne Siomades

- BOOK REVIEW
CUCKOO CAN’T FIND YOU
by Lorianne Siomades & illustrated by Lorianne Siomades

- BOOK REVIEW
KANGAROO AND CRICKET
by Lorianne Siomades

bookshelf

HOORAY FOR FISH!

by Lucy Cousins & illustrated by Lucy Cousins ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2005

bookshelf

Fish sporting bright colors and broadly brushed patterns flash across solid blue color fields, as Little Fish introduces finny friends, from “spotty fish, stripy fish, happy fish, gripy fish,” to “eye fish, shy fish, fly fish, sky fish.” Cousins slips in several opportunities for counting, along with all the color and pattern recognition practice, and has Little Fish close on an intimate note, with “the one I love the best,” his mom, coming in for a smooch. Preschoolers will happily dive into this oversized cousin to Lois Ehlert’s Fish Eyes (1990), and Cousins’ own Maisy’s Rainbow Dream (2003). (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: June 1, 2005

ISBN: 0-7636-2741-0

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2005

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
MAISY GOES ON A NATURE WALK
by Lucy Cousins ; illustrated by Lucy Cousins

- BOOK REVIEW
A GOOD PLACE
by Lucy Cousins ; illustrated by Lucy Cousins

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE FISH'S OCEAN
by Lucy Cousins ; illustrated by Lucy Cousins

bookshelf

WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND?

by Sam McBratney ; illustrated by Anita Jeram ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 29, 2020

Readers are likely to love it to the moon and back.

bookshelf

Little Nutbrown Hare ventures out into the wide world and comes back with a new companion in this sequel to Guess How Much I Love You (1994).

Big Nutbrown Hare is too busy, so after asking permission, Little Nutbrown Hare scampers off over the rolling meadow to play by himself. After discovering that neither his shadow nor his reflection make satisfactory playmates (“You’re only another me!”), Little Nutbrown comes to Cloudy Mountain…and meets “Someone real!” It’s a white bunny who introduces herself as Tipps. But a wonderful round of digging and building and chasing about reaches an unexpected end with a game of hide-and-seek, because both hares hide! After waiting a long time to be found, Little Nutbrown Hare hops on home in disappointment, wondering whether he’ll ever see Tipps again. As it turns out, it doesn’t take long to find out, since she has followed him. “Now, where on earth did she come from?” wonders Big Nutbrown. “Her name is Tipps,” Little Nutbrown proudly replies, “and she’s my friend.” Jeram’s spacious, pale-toned, naturalistic outdoor scenes create a properly idyllic setting for this cozy development in a tender child-caregiver relationship—which hasn’t lost a bit of its appealing intimacy in the more than 25 years since its first appearance. As in the first, Big Nutbrown Hare is ungendered, facilitating pleasingly flexible readings.

Readers are likely to love it to the moon and back. (Picture book. 3-5)