Children will enjoy trekking along and sharing adventures with this herd.
A yak learns an important life lesson.
Gertie’s mother tells her that their yak herd must move because the weather on the mountain where they reside has gotten too warm. This news unsettles Gertie because all her favorite belongings are right here. Mummy sagely tells her, “A home is much more than the things that you pack.” But a skeptical Gertie is determined to cram every item she owns onto her sled, including books, pine cones, skis, jump rope, photos, and her second-best hat. Mummy tells Gertie that no matter what, they must remember to take Dot, Gertie’s baby sister. At last, Mummy gives the order for the herd to leave. Gertie stops to pick up more pine cones. Unbeknownst to her, one of these stopovers results in Dot plopping off the sled and rolling away! When Gertie realizes what’s happened, she’s distraught. Fortunately, Granny Yak soon comes along and assures Gertie that all’s well: She found Dot, who’s now safe. Gertie, understandably relieved, is finally convinced that mere things don’t make home a home—family does. This U.K. import, told in lyrical, bouncy verse, is a lovely story with a simple yet uplifting, empowering message that will resonate with readers. The lively illustrations, rendered in pencil and ink and colored digitally, are crisp and clear, like cold mountain air. Gertie and tiny moon-eyed Dot are adorable. Note the striking patterns on the yaks’ hats, blankets, and elsewhere.
Children will enjoy trekking along and sharing adventures with this herd. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781682637548
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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