by Mark Sommerset ; illustrated by Rowan Sommerset ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 2, 2016
Guaranteed hysterics for readers with strong stomachs
“Revenge is a drink best served cold,” reads the book’s ominous epigraph.
Quirky Turkey, who was tricked by Little Baa Baa into eating poo in Baa Baa Smart Sheep (2016), wants revenge. Billy the goat offers a glass of yellowish liquid (likely this won’t end well for someone). Little Baa Baa happens by, and after commenting on the heat of the day, Turkey offers Baa Baa a cool glass of lemonade. Little Baa Baa loves lemonade, especially fresh-squeezed lemonade. And this lemonade is free, according to Turkey, to turkeys—er, and sheep. Little Baa Baa is suspicious; it looks like pee. As in the earlier book, the action is all in the fast-paced dialogue: “ ‘So you’re sure it’s lemonade?’ / ‘Yes, it’s lemonade.’ / ‘That’s fresh.’ / ‘And squeezed.’ / ‘And delicious.’ / ‘And free!’ / ‘To sheep.’ / ‘And turkeys!’ / ‘YOU’RE a turkey!’ / ‘I AM a turkey!’ / ‘Who likes lemonade?’ / ‘Who LOVES lemonade!’ / ‘Then…why don’t you help yourself?’ / ‘Don’t mind if I do!’ ” Poor Quirky Turkey, tricked again. Little Baa Baa offers a cookie in consolation (you don’t want to know). The Sommersets offer another tale of mischief told mostly in dialogue bubbles that is sure to make parents groan and …um…wee ones double over with laughter. Both the earth-toned, cartoon critters on slightly paler earth-toned solid backgrounds and precise sense of comedic pacing again bring Willems to mind.
Guaranteed hysterics for readers with strong stomachs . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8067-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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by Mark Sommerset ; illustrated by Rowan Sommerset
by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Chloe Dominique ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024
Pleasant enough but not particularly original.
Uplifting messages of positivity from the Today show anchor.
Hope springs eternal, so the saying goes. Kotb agrees, here delivering to children the cheery news that hope lives inside all of them and that whatever they might wish for can be theirs. All they need is a sunny outlook, and the possibilities for happy outcomes are virtually endless. Children’s dreams can be in-the-moment ones—like purple ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry—or more far-ranging ones, such as growing tall enough to reach that high shelf easily or for hair that’s long enough to braid. It doesn’t matter, the author reassures young readers. Your aspirations will be realized, so don’t give up on them—just keep believing in them and, most of all, in yourself. Throughout, Kotb calls hope a rainbow, a feeling, a gift, and a wish. Hope is “new friends you’ll find— / friends who are loving and funny and kind.” Hope is “practicing your heart out, letter by letter.” The book’s overarching theme is upbeat, but its bouncy rhyming text is clumsy. The child-appealing illustrations are colorful and lively, though they have a generic look. The cast of wide-eyed characters is racially diverse; some have visible disabilities.
Pleasant enough but not particularly original. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624128
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
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by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Suzie Mason
by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2023
From curds to riches, from meltdown to uplift—this multicourse romp delivers.
A winning wheel of cheddar with braggadocio to match narrates a tale of comeuppance and redemption.
From humble beginnings among kitchen curds living “quiet lives of pasteurization,” the Big Cheese longs to be the best and builds success and renown based on proven skills and dependable results: “I stuck to the things I was good at.” When newcomer Wedge moves to the village of Curds-on-Whey, the Cheese’s star status wobbles and falls. Turns out that quiet, modest Wedge is also multitalented. At the annual Cheese-cathlon, Wedge bests six-time winner Cheese in every event, from the footrace and chess to hat making and bread buttering. A disappointed Cheese throws a full-blown tantrum before arriving at a moment of truth: Self-calming, conscious breathing permits deep relief that losing—even badly—does not result in disaster. A debrief with Wedge “that wasn’t all about me” leads to further realizations: Losing builds empathy for others; obsession with winning obscures “the joy of participating.” The chastened cheddar learns to reserve bragging for lifting up friends, because anyone can be the Big Cheese. More didactic and less pun-rich than previous entries in the Food Group series, this outing nevertheless couples a cheerful refrain with pithy life lessons that hit home. Oswald’s detailed, comical illustrations continue to provide laughs, including a spot with Cheese onstage doing a “CHED” talk.
From curds to riches, from meltdown to uplift—this multicourse romp delivers. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9780063329508
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald
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by Jory John ; illustrated by Olivier Tallec
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by Jory John ; illustrated by Erin Kraan
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