An entertaining but somewhat frantic tale, illustrating that homemade fun often wins over “official” competition.
Siblings Julia and Charles take their bulldog, Rexie, to a dog show in this sequel to How to Behave at a Tea Party (2014).
Older sister Julia presents an official entry form for the dog show on the story’s opening page and then tries to prepare for the show, beginning with a bath for Rexie. The text offers dryly humorous rules for dog-show handlers, with each suggestion counteracted by rambunctious Rexie and the equally boisterous younger brother. Mischief erupts on multiple fronts, ranging from squirts of blue hair dye to squirts from a skunk and, at the show itself, stolen shoes and an upset trophy display. Julia and Charles are joined by a pair of misbehaving, identical twin boys, and eventually all four children capture runaway Rexie and take him home for their own unstructured dog show with just one entry. Digitally produced illustrations have the look of loose watercolors with ink details, incorporating lots of high-spirited action and amusing animal antics. Several pages are confusing in the layout of the illustrations, using multiple vignettes without clear definition of flow.
An entertaining but somewhat frantic tale, illustrating that homemade fun often wins over “official” competition. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-227927-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This new entry in the Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science series is a Stage 2 title exploring the busy and diverse world of the rain forest.
In a format reminiscent of the Magic Schoolbus books, an adult leader accompanies an African-American boy and a Caucasian girl on a trip into the rain forest, with sidebars, fact boxes, picture captions, diagrams and speech balloons rounding out the information presented in the text. Readers learn how this habitat differs from forests in temperate climates and visit the three levels (and their various plants and animals)—understory, canopy and emergent layer—along with the three characters; don’t forget your climbing harness! Bolded words are defined within the text, and readers are barraged with fascinating facts: Ants make up more than half the insect species found in the rain forest (which explains why they get so many spreads). A labelled diagram shows the interconnectedness of the rain forest’s parts, and two final spreads focus on threats to the world’s rain forests as well as the benefits gained by protecting them. Backmatter invites readers to make a terrarium and lists various places in the U.S. where they can visit rain-forest exhibits. Dominated by greens and browns, Duke’s friendly cartoons effectively communicate the immense variety of plant and animal life found in rain forests and feature cutaway views and close-ups in several spreads. A fascinating and solid introduction. (Informational picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-028259-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
There is a reason an overexplosion of pigeons rattles many feathers, and this tale doesn’t dispel it.
Hampson takes a stab at encouraging fellow feeling between pigeons and people.
The story starts with a small cabal of big-city pigeons grousing that they don’t get much respect. They know humans hate them, but they don’t seem to understand why—though Reich’s illustrations, which display a variety of responses to pigeons, hint at the reasons. Dr. Coo rouses the others by recounting their great history as carriers of messages and symbols of peace. Their worth validated, the pigeons decide to prove it to the humans by hiding from the city folk. With no pigeons, the city is an eerie place, and those who liked feeding the birds miss them. A petition is delivered to the mayor demanding respect in return for the pigeons’ coordination in pooping activities—the first textual mention of this bone of human-pigeon contention—and arguing that pigeons are a valuable part of the city’s diversity. Despite lofty intentions, this story simply doesn’t provide much more than poop entertainment. The interactions among the pigeons are arch and mannered, and at least one joke (about millennials) will fly over the audience’s heads. Dr. Coo’s history lesson notwithstanding, many will feel that feral city pigeons are misidentified as unjustly marginalized.
There is a reason an overexplosion of pigeons rattles many feathers, and this tale doesn’t dispel it. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-77138-361-5
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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