¡Ay, Poco Loco! We hope to see you again soon.
Poco Loco the mouse may be a little nuts, but he’s got some great ideas, too.
One morning, after using his Cuckoo Clock–Coffemaker and his Shower-Bed, Poco Loco is making breakfast (fluffy blueberry waffles) on his Waffle Iron–Weather Forecaster when he receives a forecast for mal tiempo (bad weather). The barnyard animals troop outside for a breakfast picnic despite Poco Loco’s repeated warnings. When a sudden gust of wind catches his trusty paraguas (umbrella) and sweeps Poco Loco into the air, his friends panic. Gallo (rooster) tries to help: “ ‘¡Ay, Poco Loco!’ / Gallo runs! / Gallo jumps! / Gallo grabs tight— / …and Gallo takes flight!” Gato, Cerdo and Vaca (cat, pig, and cow) all try to save their friends, until all are flying through the air hanging on to Poco Loco. When the rain comes and they all slip off, it’s a good thing Poco Loco is a genius! He saves the day with his helicóptero-paraguas! Husband-and-wife team Krause and Chua’s debut is an ebulliently silly bilingual barnyard tale with a glossary up front and plenty of prompts for Spanish words in the text and pictures: When Gato speaks, he meows, and Poco Loco’s umbrella is quite obvious when he tells everyone to get under his paraguas. The bright, stylized cartoon illustrations are just what one would expect from a designer who works on the Simpsons TV show.
¡Ay, Poco Loco! We hope to see you again soon. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: April 30, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4778-1649-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
A solid, small step for diversifying STEM stories.
What does Annie want to be?
As career day approaches, Annie wants to keep her job choice secret until her family sees her presentation at school. Readers will figure it out, however, through the title and clues Tadgell incorporates into the illustrations. Family members make guesses about her ambitions that are tied to their own passions, although her brother watches as she completes her costume in a bedroom with a Mae Jemison poster, starry décor, and a telescope. There’s a celebratory mood at the culminating presentation, where Annie says she wants to “soar high through the air” like her basketball-playing mother, “explore faraway places” like her hiker dad, and “be brave and bold” like her baker grandmother (this feels forced, but oven mitts are part of her astronaut costume) so “the whole world will hear my exciting stories” like her reporter grandfather. Annie jumps off a chair to “BLAST OFF” in a small illustration superimposed on a larger picture depicting her floating in space with a reddish ground below. It’s unclear if Annie imagines this scene or if it’s her future-self exploring Mars, but either scenario fits the aspirational story. Backmatter provides further reading suggestions and information about the moon and four women astronauts, one of whom is Jemison. Annie and her family are all black.
A solid, small step for diversifying STEM stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-88448-523-0
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
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