A comforting, informative read even if the rhyme gets a bit carried away.
A rhyming description of many ways that animals, and people, carry and protect their young.
The text distinguishes itself by including references to a broad diversity of animals ranging from those the theme demands—a kangaroo with a joey in her pouch, for instance—to some less-expected ones, such as a manatee whose baby swims close beside her, nuzzling below her fin to nurse. On the other hand, the rhymes feel quite forced at times, which undermines the book’s success, as in the spread about the emperor penguin: “The mother lays a single egg. / Then she goes out to sea. / The father warms it on his feet. / How can this really be?” Accompanying expository text on facing pages provides factual information that serves the book well, though its staid presence underscores the bouncy, rhyming text’s flaws. The realistic art style better suits the expository text and is at turns compelling (the penguin scene is a high point) and overworked (the alligator spread leaves little rest for the eye). The animal spreads are framed with opening and closing pages of text and art depicting racially diverse human parents carrying and caring for their little ones. Backmatter includes a matching game, further information about the animals, curricular connections, and print and internet resources.
A comforting, informative read even if the rhyme gets a bit carried away. (Informational picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-58469-592-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dawn Publications
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
A sweet, simple story with a nicely offbeat heroine.
All the animals are welcome to come aboard.
Hedgehog seems very lonely, “curled up in a prickly little ball in a lonely little nook of a lonely little tree.” When she overhears a sympathetic conversation about friendship “out there,” she perks up, picturing a beautiful “Friend Ship.” Hedgehog sets sail with a curious beaver in a small boat to find it. Before long, the duo spots a herd of migrating deer on the shore. Hedgehog asks if they’ve seen the Friend Ship; all reply that they could use a friend and hop aboard. Next, the company spies a rat, who asks to join them. They sail in multiple directions to no avail. Hedgehog begins to lose hope, but her companions convince her to persist. She spots a small island, its only resident an elephant. Hedgehog swims the distance and asks the elephant about the Friend Ship. The elephant points at Hedgehog’s small boat full of animals and asks, “Isn’t that it—right over there?” It’s a lightning-bolt moment. Hedgehog invites the elephant aboard, and they sail west, celebrating all the while…into the sunset together. Yeh makes effective use of dialogue and repetition, investing her characters with personality with just a few lines. Groenink employs sunny, warm hues that increase in saturation as the boat fills and Hedgehog becomes surrounded by friends.
A sweet, simple story with a nicely offbeat heroine. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-0726-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too many bugs, figuratively.
Lucy, “the youngest member of a family of fireflies,” must overcome an irrational, moon-induced anxiety in order to leave her family tree trunk and glow.
The first six pages pull readers into a lush, beautiful world of nighttime: “When the sun has set, silence falls over the Big Forest, and all of the nighttime animals wake up.” Mixed media provide an enchanting forest background, with stylized flora and fauna eventually illuminated by a large, benign moon, because the night “doesn’t like to catch them by surprise.” Turning the page catches readers by surprise, though: the family of fireflies is decidedly comical and silly-looking. Similarly, the text moves from a lulling, magical cadence to a distinct shift in mood as the bugs ready themselves for their foray into the night: “They wave their bottoms in the air, wiggle their feelers, take a deep, deep breath, and sing, ‘Here we go, it’s time to glow!’ ” It’s an acceptable change, but more unevenness follows. Lucy’s excitement about finally joining the other bugs turns to “sobbing” two nights in a row. Instead of directly linking her behavior to understandable reactions of children to newness, the text undermines itself by making Lucy’s parents’ sweet reassurances impotent and using the grandmother’s scientific explanation of moonlight as an unnecessary metaphor. Further detracting from the story, the text becomes ever denser and more complex over the book’s short span.
Too many bugs, figuratively. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-84-16147-00-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cuento de Luz
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
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