Fans of funny animals will find tame humor, vocabulary-building language, and accessible rhymes here.
In Abrams’ illustrated children’s book, a white cat and a dachshund in Tennessee conjure unusual scenarios in brief rhymes.
Silly Cat imagines that he can see across the sea from landlocked Tennessee, and witness wallabies or manatees; he then “rous[es] from his reverie” to see a lizard “lunching on a backyard flea.” In short verse chapters in large type, readers follow Silly and sometimes dachshund Dainty on a series of similar fantasies. Vagreti offers scrupulously lively, dynamic paintings in flat colors, which depict lifelike animals inside and outside Silly’s head, with occasional anthropomorphic expressions on Silly’s face; there are also depictions of unlikely behavior, such as Dainty carrying dishes of ice cream. The situations are lightly amusing throughout, as when Silly pretends to be a stegosaur named Brute who blasts fruit “right out of his snoot,” or sees a bear wearing knight’s armor. The rhyme scheme stays consistently simple—the end words of every line in each stanza rhyme—though Abrams often leaps into more advanced, interesting vocabulary: “My mind went fuzzy with despair, / like sort of dreaming, yet aware.” Wild animals from around the world make occasional incongruous appearances. The humor is that of a pet owner observing a feline’s inscrutable behavior and fondly projecting human emotions onto it; the result is a text for cat lovers from a range of age groups. It will be most appropriate for kids who enjoy funny poems and have learned to read on their own, but who also benefit from plenty of pictures.
Fans of funny animals will find tame humor, vocabulary-building language, and accessible rhymes here.Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2023
ISBN: 9781628802696
Page Count: 100
Publisher: Ideas into Books WESTVIEW
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
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