Unreliable on marine biology but effectively deploying a limited vocabulary.
For pre-readers familiar with screens and too young for Jaws.
A shark (“Swim, Shark. Swim”) sporting a webcam on its head grins at us. Right-hand pages show the webcam feed: the terrified faces of small, shell-less sea creatures exclaiming, “TEETH!” “LOTS OF TEETH!” After the sea life frantically departs (“BYE!”), a pink octopus comes into view. In real life, the octopus is prey, but here the two bow cordially to each other as the shark asks the octopus to dance. “Tango? Mambo? Cha-cha-cha?” wonders the octopus, and they proceed to “swing” and “sway” before the blissed-out octopus and shark part. Suddenly, the following page reveals a huge whale, and Shark is sucked into its maw along with smaller fry. The whale seems to have baleen plates, but everything in its mouth is swallowed down a gullet (with a uvula, which whales don’t have). It’s “very dark” inside the whale, but somehow, when the mouth opens again, shark and fry swim out. Now the “hungry!” shark spots the bottom of a small boat on the surface and jumps in, ejecting the tan-skinned person fishing. As the human swims away in the distance, Shark contentedly reclines, eating an apple abandoned in the quick exit: “Party on, Shark!” Small viewers might struggle with the illustrator’s whale-mouth sequence, but the use of simple, short words makes it a solid choice, and the bright graphics convincingly simulate a camera’s-eye view.
Unreliable on marine biology but effectively deploying a limited vocabulary. (Early reader. 3-6)Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9781665927352
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon Spotlight
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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