A funny and sharp story with nuance.
A little penguin tries to outshine his zoo friends, but there’s a surprise in store for him.
Penguin Orville lives in the zoo and has many big friends, such as an elephant, a giraffe, and a lion. These big friends go on big adventures, and Orville is sad because he misses out. He wants to feel big too, so he decides he is going to go to the moon. With some trial and error, he manages to build a spaceship. He defiantly proclaims, “I can do this myself,” when his friends offer to help him or express doubt. His big adventure is successful, and he lands on the moon—but while he’s thrilled to have made it, soon he starts to miss his friends and wonders if this is what he really wanted to do. With some introspection and the support of his friends, Orville discovers his biggest adventure yet! This empowering story is conveyed beautifully with simple text that’s distinguished by gentle wordplay and remarkable mixed-media illustrations. Yarlett’s detailed depictions, including the cartoon-style portraits of stylized, friendly-looking zoo animals, bring the story alive. Small details delight, as when Orville sketches his diagrams on the elephant’s hide. The satisfying tale also leaves room for an interesting conversation about whether adventures would be more fun with or without friends.
A funny and sharp story with nuance. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-545-84884-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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