We like these butts, and we cannot lie!
Bum’s the word!
This humorous title delivers just what it promises: fauna fawning over their own rumps, no more and no less. Though scatological jokes would be an obvious extension of the theme, and scenes of creatures sitting down might be expected, Saito resists such content and mostly depicts the animals against white backgrounds, their backsides facing readers. The accompanying first-person text offers proud self-praise of the speakers’ posteriors. At the very beginning, however, a hippo’s head, rather than its bottom, peeks onto the recto facing a small rabbit, viewed from the rear, on the verso. The text above the rabbit boasts, “My bottom is such a round bottom—and so cute, don’t you think?” The hippo replies, “I have a round bottom too! So round—and so-o-o big!” A page turn reveals that big bottom, and on the facing page an elephant looks down from the recto’s upper-right corner to declare, “My bottom’s even bigger! So much bigger!” The page turn reveals that yes, indeed, it is. Next come a tiger’s, zebra’s, and okapi’s striped bums, then other colorful bottoms. Monkeys and baboons, shown front- and back-facing declare, “Our bottoms are the same color as our faces!” The culminating spreads show a lineup of every bottom from the prior pages. In Saito’s delicate renderings, each bottom is distinct and, yes, beautiful.
We like these butts, and we cannot lie! (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77164-710-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greystone Kids
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
A delightfully silly celebration of familial love.
A child in search of the best hugger takes a bedtime tour of the world’s most unusual embraces.
In the opening pages of this rhyming picture book, an unnamed narrator asks a curly-haired, tan-skinned child who they think gives the best hugs. At the narrator’s behest, the protagonist spends their bedtime routine receiving affection from a wacky cast of creatures, ranging from meerkats to porcupines to narwhals. These animals have a variety of body types, but even those with a lack of limbs still express their love; the seahorse, for example, gives the child a “smooch” right before bathtime, and a grinning cobra offers the child a “clinch,” wrapping itself around their leg. Although many of the animals prove to be more prickly than cozy—the narrator points out, for example, the sharpness of bird beaks and porcupine quills—even the snuggliest koalas and bears cannot compare to the best hug of all: a parent’s embrace right before bedtime. The use of second-person address combined with the protagonist’s beautifully illustrated facial expressions and the buoyant, clever lines of verse render this book a hilarious and whimsical ride sure to delight both children and the adults who read to them. The pictures and text work together to create a clear narrative arc for the protagonist, and though the ending is a bit predictable, it’s nevertheless a wonderful payoff. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A delightfully silly celebration of familial love. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5476-1236-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their...
Less ambitious than Chris Gall’s widely known Dinotrux (2009) and sequels, this British import systematically relegates each dinosaur/construction-equipment hybrid to its most logical job.
The title figures are introduced as bigger than both diggers and dinosaurs, and rhyming text and two construction-helmeted kids show just what these creatures are capable of. Each diggersaur has a specific job to do and a distinct sound effect. The dozersaurus moves rocks with a “SCRAAAAPE!!!” while the rollersaurus flattens lumps with a cheery “TOOT TOOT!!” Each diggersaur is numbered, with 12 in all, allowing this to be a counting book on the sly. As the diggersaurs (not all of which dig) perform jobs that regular construction equipment can do, albeit on a larger scale, there is no particular reason why any of them should have dinosaurlike looks other than just ’cause. Peppy computer art tries valiantly to attract attention away from the singularly unoriginal text. “Diggersaurs dig with bites so BIG, / each SCOOP creates a crater. // They’re TOUGH and STRONG / with necks so long— / they’re super EXCAVATORS!” Far more interesting are the two human characters, a white girl and a black boy, that flit about the pictures offering commentary and action. Much of the fun of the book can be found in trying to spot them on every two-page spread.
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their dino/construction kicks. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-4779-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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