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TELEPHONE

Name: TELEPHONE
Author: Mac Barnett
ISBN: 978-1-4521-1023-3

by Mac Barnett ; illustrated by Jen Corace ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 9, 2014

Silly fun! (Pass it on.) (Picture book. 4-7)

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Barnett and Corace set up an absurdist version of the old “pass it on” game of Telephone, siting it quite literally—along a line of birds on a wire.

An aproned pigeon with a steaming deep-dish pie tells a baseball bat–toting young cardinal: “Tell Peter: Fly home for dinner.” The cardinal translates the message to a goose in a pilot’s cap and goggles: “Tell Peter: Hit pop flies and homers.” The goose tells a feather-dusting ostrich in a French maid’s get-up, “Tell Peter: Prop planes are for fliers.” The maid interprets, “Tell Peter: Put your wet socks in the dryer.” And so it goes, with seven more birds relaying the message with new twists that reflect their respective avocations, from rock star to firefighter. That seventh fowl, a certifiably paranoid chicken, conveys to an unruffled owl a message that wildly mixes up all of the previous ones: “Tell Peter: There’s a giant monster lobster named Homer! / He smells like socks and he breathes red fire! / …and he’s coming to this wire! / Tell Peter to fly! / …He’s too young to be / somebody’s dinner!” Corace cleverly outfits her mixed-media birds with accoutrements including an electric guitar, cameras, books and—for Peter and his baseball teammates—bubble gum. The sage, bookish owl gets the message right, and Peter, ostensibly, his dinner.

Silly fun! (Pass it on.) (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-4521-1023-3

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FIRST CAT IN SPACE AND THE WRATH OF THE PAPERCLIP
by Mac Barnett ; illustrated by Shawn Harris

- BOOK REVIEW
SANTA'S FIRST CHRISTMAS
by Mac Barnett ; illustrated by Sydney Smith

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FIRST CAT IN SPACE AND THE SOUP OF DOOM
by Mac Barnett ; illustrated by Shawn Harris

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JUST DUCKS!

by Nicola Davies & illustrated by Salvatore Rubbino ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2012

An ideal introduction to this familiar waterfowl—readers will enjoy diving right in.

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Mallard ducks catch the attention of an observant young narrator. Join in on her day’s travels to learn a lot about these quacking creatures.

Quacks appear in graduated type from large to small to begin this informational gem. The daily activities of a young girl propel the easy-flowing language full of ducky details. Perfectly placed additional facts in smaller and similar-in-tone text are included on each spread. These seamless complements serve to explain unfamiliar terms such as “preening,” “dabbling” and “upending.” While Davies’ text gently informs, Rubbino’s mixed-media illustrations, done in a subdued palette of watery greens, grays and browns, truly impress. Mama ducks, drakes and ducklings alike hold the focus as they nest, search for food, swim, splash and sleep. The loose and childlike pictures capture essential details: the “secret patch of blue on each wing” and the “cute little curl on their tails.” At the end of the day (and book), readers find “The bridge is quiet, and there’s just the sound of rushing water and the stillness of the night.” But the page turn reveals another morning of “ducks—just ducks, down on the river that flows through the town.”

An ideal introduction to this familiar waterfowl—readers will enjoy diving right in. (index, note) (Informational picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 1, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-7636-5936-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
GREEN
by Nicola Davies ; illustrated by Emily Sutton

- BOOK REVIEW
ONE WORLD
by Nicola Davies ; illustrated by Jenni Desmond

- BOOK REVIEW
EMPEROR OF THE ICE
by Nicola Davies ; illustrated by Catherine Rayner

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ROCKET PUPPIES

by William Joyce ; illustrated by William Joyce ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 2024

Powered by whimsy and nostalgia, a doggone adorable tale of superheroes transforming the world for the better.

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Can flying puppies, fueled by people’s hugs, save the world from gloom?

Light-skinned Snarly McBummerpants is busy sending out Mopey Smokes (evil-looking dark brown clouds) from his volcano on the Island of Woe to create a sad state of affairs. But the caped puppies, each equipped with a rocket and hailing from “the outer reaches of NOT-FROM-HERE,” use their abilities to conquer the morose McBummerpants and bring happiness back to everyone’s lives. The meticulously detailed illustrations carry the story, dark colors turning to rainbow hues and frowns turning to smiles. From Big Brad to Tiny Brad, the smallest, most powerful puppy, who “[licks] a kiss right on the tip of Snarly McBummerpants’s nose,” these absolutely endearing pooches elicit a universal “AWWWWWWWWWW!” from all who encounter them. Joyce’s witty illustrations depict diverse children and adults who appear to hail from different decades. Two teenagers wear the bobby socks and saddle shoes of the 1940s and ’50s and sit atop a retro soda cooler. Other kids ride the skateboards of a later era. Laurel and Hardy, classic movie performers who may need introduction, are amusingly pictured as bullies turned florists (a little odd, since only Hardy bullied Laurel). Even McBummerpants seems reminiscent of an old-time movie villain. The text is less inventive than the pictures, but the message of good over evil is always timely.

Powered by whimsy and nostalgia, a doggone adorable tale of superheroes transforming the world for the better. (Picture book. 4-7)