A young deer worries about losing his antlers but learns it’s just a part of growing up.
Wade’s walking through the snow and notices that the shadow of his antlers resembles trumpets. This makes him want to march, and he leads an impromptu parade through the forest. As he marches, he feels his antlers wiggling and abruptly stops the parade to run home and show his mother. She reminds him that she had told him before that his antlers would fall off and new ones would grow in the summer. Wade decides he doesn’t want to lose his antlers so for a few days sits on the sidelines while his friends dance and play hockey and jump rope. Then he decides he can’t wait any longer and tries to remove the antlers himself; no luck. Finally, after a day of tobogganing, he discovers that his antlers are gone! And sure enough, in the summer, two bumps sprout on his head, quickly growing into a pair of bigger trumpets. Bradford’s text is substantial, bringing a bit more complexity and depth than many picture books and capturing a child’s ambivalence about maturation; readers won’t have to stretch to see the parallels between Wade’s antlers and their impending loose teeth. Battuz plays with pattern, shape, and riotous color effectively.
A valuable lesson, nicely and sympathetically delivered. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-77138-615-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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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
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS
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Fuzzy, bearlike creatures of different sizes relate to one another in an amusing story that explores the relative nature of size.
A small purple creature meets a similarly shaped but much larger orange critter. The purple creature maintains that the orange creature is “big”; the orange one counters by calling the purple one “small.” This continues, devolving into a very funny shouting match, pages full of each type of creature hollering across the gutter. This is followed by a show-stopping double-page spread depicting two huge, blue legs and the single word “Boom!” in huge display type. Tiny, pink critters then float down by parachute, further complicating the size comparisons. Eventually, these brightly colored animals learn to see things in a different way. In the end, they decide they are all hungry and trudge off to eat together. The story is told effectively with just a few words per page, though younger readers might need help understanding the size and perspective concepts. Cartoon-style illustrations in ink and watercolor use simple shapes with heavy black outlines set off by lots of white space, with an oversized format and large typeface adding to the spare but polished design. While the story itself seems simple, the concepts are pertinent to several important social issues such as bullying and racism, as well as understanding point of view.
Charming characters, a clever plot and a quiet message tucked inside a humorous tale. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4778-4772-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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