Striking art adds levity to the book’s anti-bullying message
Teasing brings out a bird’s inner artist.
Bob is a black, crowlike bird with a red beak and very long, skinny legs. He becomes self-conscious about his legs when he goes out for a walk and is teased by onlookers. “Eeeek! Look at those skinny legs!” comments Cat. “Oooh! Look at that funny stick walk,” says Owl. “Oh! How puny your legs are!” remark a crowd of other birds, identical to Bob except with fatter legs. Bob goes to great lengths to increase the diameter of his legs. He works out at the gym, eats a pile of sausages at the restaurant, and attempts to find clothing to camouflage his legs. Inspiration comes at the art museum, where he sees many different textures and patterns in the paintings on the walls. In a Matisse-style eureka moment, Bob realizes that by painting his beak in a multitude of art-inspired designs, he can gain public admiration for his beautiful beak, and his legs will no longer be the focus of attention. Each day he paints his beak in the style of a different artist or just with abstract bright patterns. He garners admiring comments from his previous critics, and now no one notices his legs. British artist Deuchars' expressive hand-lettering and bold, splashy ink-and-watercolor art stand out against minimalist backgrounds; such quirky details as a cat created with thumbprints charm. Unfortunately, aside from Matisse and Pollock, the inspirational sources for Bob’s designs are not named.
Striking art adds levity to the book’s anti-bullying message . (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-78067-767-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Laurence King
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nursery charmer.
A pink-cheeked version of a song most everyone knows, with new verses highlighting cozy animal dyads across the world.
The bright yellow and red owlet with its parent opens the lullaby with the verse we all know. Next a papa deer and fawn in the forest, a whale and calf in the sea, a kangaroo and joey in the outback, vulture and chick and so on, each filling a two-page spread. The verse mirrors the pictures: “Glisten, glisten, little star, / how I wonder what you are. / Up above the grassy plain …” shows a papa lion and cub, and on the next spread—“…through the warm, wet jungle rain”—a pair of rosy-cheeked monkeys. The five-pointed, butter-gold star is prominently visible on every spread. Color and line are thick and bold, while all of the animals, from polar bears to pussy cats, have button eyes and the suggestion of human smiles. The final verse (“Twinkle over towns and trees, / fields and farms, / Lakes and seas”) shows just such a vista, with lollipop trees, a building-block city and a little red lighthouse. The concluding spread, “Twinkle, twinkle, up above … // … for me and for / the one I love” pictures that bright star on one page facing a golden-haired mother and child. The music for this venerable tune is on the back endpaper.
A nursery charmer. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2519-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Yes, the Pigeon has to go to school, and so do readers, and this book will surely ease the way.
All the typical worries and excuses kids have about school are filtered through Willems’ hysterical, bus-loving Pigeon.
Told mostly in speech balloons, the bird’s monologue will have kids (and their caregivers) in stitches at Pigeon’s excuses. From already knowing everything (except whatever question readers choose to provide in response to “Go ahead—ask me a question. / Any question!”) to fearing learning too much (“My head might pop off”), Pigeon’s imagination has run wild. Readers familiar with Pigeon will recognize the muted, matte backgrounds that show off the bird’s shenanigans so well. As in previous outings, Willems varies the size of the pigeon on the page to help communicate emotion, the bird teeny small on the double-page spread that illustrates the confession that “I’m… / scared.” And Pigeon’s eight-box rant about all the perils of school (“The unknown stresses me out, dude”) is marvelously followed by the realization (complete with lightbulb thought bubble) that school is the place for students to practice, with experts, all those skills they don’t yet have. But it is the ending that is so Willems, so Pigeon, and so perfect. Pigeon’s last question is “Well, HOW am I supposed to get there, anyway!?!” Readers will readily guess both the answer and Pigeon’s reaction.
Yes, the Pigeon has to go to school, and so do readers, and this book will surely ease the way. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-04645-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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