IF YOU HAD A NOSE LIKE AN ELEPHANT’S TRUNK

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IF YOU HAD A NOSE LIKE AN ELEPHANT’S TRUNK

Name: IF YOU HAD A NOSE LIKE AN ELEPHANT’S TRUNK
Author: Marion Dane Bauer
ISBN: 0-8234-1589-9

by Marion Dane Bauer & illustrated by Susan Winter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 15, 2001

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A young girl explores the fantasy of what she could do if she had the trunk of an elephant, the feet of a fly, the tongue of a snapping turtle, the jaw of a snake, or the spinnerets of a spider. Then she glories in what she can do with her human nose, legs, and mouth. Writing as smoothly as she did in Sleep, Little One, Sleep (1999), Bauer offers the possibility of a storytime movement segment in which children could pretend to be the various animals. She also presents a glimpse of animal behavior. At one point, the little girl holds a lizard’s tail that has broken off in order to facilitate escape. “If you had a tail like a lizard’s, you could never be caught in a game of tag.” Creative teachers could spin off into a discussion of the phenomenon. But the lizard’s small light-brown tail held in the little girl’s beige hand can only be seen close up, making this less effective for a group. Unfortunately for the concept of glorifying the human child, Winter’s (Toddler Time, 2000, etc.) pretty children are all standard-issue Caucasians, not a child of color or limited ability among them. Compare this to Jean Marzollo’s and Jerry Pinkney’s Pretend You’re a Cat (1990) and know that this is a truly missed opportunity. (Picture book. 2-5)

Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2001

ISBN: 0-8234-1589-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Holiday House

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
WE, THE CURIOUS ONES
by Marion Dane Bauer ; illustrated by Hari & Deepti

- BOOK REVIEW
SUNSHINE
by Marion Dane Bauer

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THE STUFF OF STARS
by Marion Dane Bauer ; illustrated by Ekua Holmes

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A KISSING HAND FOR CHESTER RACCOON

From the Kissing Hand series

by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2014

Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...

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A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.

As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.

Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: April 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4

Page Count: 14

Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing

Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
CHESTER RACCOON AND THE ALMOST PERFECT SLEEPOVER
by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson

- BOOK REVIEW
KAI TO THE RESCUE!
by Audrey Penn ; illustrated by Mike Yamada

- BOOK REVIEW
A COLOR GAME FOR CHESTER RACCOON
by Audrey Penn & illustrated by Barbara L. Gibson

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ON THE FARM

by David Elliott & illustrated by Holly Meade ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2008

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Energetic woodcuts accompany playfully simple poems as they give young readers an engaging tour of the barnyard. From the usual suspects—rooster, cow, sheep—to some of the less celebrated denizens of the farm—snake, bees, turtle—each poem varies to suit its subject. The barn cat’s verse is succinct: “Mice / had better / think twice.” The snake’s winds its way down the page in sinuous shape. At their best, Elliott’s images are unexpected and all the more lovely: The turtle “Lifts her fossil head / and blinks / one, two, three / times in the awful light.” Others are not so successful, but Meade’s illustrations give them credence: The rooster “Crows and struts. / He’s got feathers! / He’s got guts!” This rhythmic but rather opaque assertion is accompanied by an oversized rooster who dominates the foreground; eyes shut in concentration, he levitates himself with the force of his crow—the very embodiment of “guts.” Farmyard books are a dime a dozen, but this one is a worthwhile addition, for those poems that reach beyond the ordinary and for the good-natured illustrations that complement them. (Picture book/poetry. 2-5)