The circus train stops here after a good run.
Frazee’s third installment in her wordless picture-book series is a family affair.
Frazee uses the frontmatter to begin her tale as, on the title page, the clown child who met the farmer in the trilogy’s first installment is shown rejecting a motherly clown’s offering of a clown suit. Instead, the child chooses the farmerlike outfit donned in Book 1 and is wearing it when the monkey protagonist of Book 2 reappears with items from the farmer’s abode. It’s a happy reunion of monkey and child, whose play evokes their times on the farm. Their joy is eclipsed only by the eventual appearance of the doting farmer, who comes to the circus after the little clown’s community of performers raises the big top on the prairie. The real drama takes place outside the tent, however, when romance blooms between the farmer and the clown’s mother as they bond over juggling, music, dancing, and pie. At the book’s end, the foursome leaves the circus and heads home to the farmer’s house, which Frazee depicts bathed in a rosy sunset, the landscape embellished with flowers. It’s a happily-ever-after sort of ending, though some readers may be weary of depictions of monkeys as quasi-children, and others may wonder why the farmer didn’t join the circus instead of relocating everyone to his home. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.3-by-20.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 19.3% of actual size.)
The circus train stops here after a good run. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4621-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren.
In talk-show host Fallon and illustrator Ordóñez’s latest picture-book collaboration, an elderly pooch waxes rhapsodic about a life well lived.
Observing Papa sitting in his chair watching TV all day, a young pup says, “I’m starting to think…you don’t do ANYTHING.” So Papa proceeds to list his accomplishments, both big and small, mundane and profound. Some are just a result of being older and physically bigger (being tall enough to reach a high shelf and strong enough to open jars); others include winning a race and performing in a band when he was younger. Eventually, the pup realizes that while Papa may have slowed down in his old age, he’s led a full life. The most satisfying thing about Papa’s life now? Watching his grandchild take center stage: “I can say lots of thoughts / but I choose to be quiet. / I’d rather you discover things and then try it.” Fallon’s straightforward text is sweetly upbeat, though it occasionally lacks flow, forcing incongruous situations together to fit the rhyme scheme (“I cook and I mow, / and I once flew a plane. // I play newspaper puzzles because it’s good for my brain”). Featuring uncluttered, colorful backgrounds, Ordóñez’s child-friendly digital art at times takes on sepia tones, evoking the sense of looking back at old photos or memories. Though the creators tread familiar ground, the love between Papa and his little one is palpable.
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781250393975
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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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