Arnold makes an appealing debut in a book set in India. A small gray kitten must choose his name in the week before the Name Day celebration. He follows a Bengal tiger, certain that he must learn its ways and adopt its name or one that is just as powerful. Ultimately he saves the tiger's life and becomes Bangali Sher Ka Dil—Heart of a Tiger. Green and gold dominate the sumptuous paintings of the forest. Henterly uses dramatic or unusual perspectives: a close-up of the snarling face of the tiger; the reflection of the cat and some parakeets in a rain puddle. The author opens with a pronunciation guide and concludes with a note on Namakarana, the Indian naming ceremony, briefly describing similar ceremonies in other countries. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-8037-1695-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1995
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note.
Little Honey Bunny Funnybunny loves baseball almost as much as she loves her big brother P.J.—though it’s a close-run thing.
Readers familiar with the pranks P.J. plays on his younger sibling in older episodes of the series (most illustrated by Roger Bollen) will be amused—and perhaps a little confused—to see him in the role of perfect big brother after meeting his swaddled little sister for the first time in mama’s lap. But here, along with being a constant companion and “always happy to see her,” he cements his heroic status in her eyes by hitting a home run for his baseball team and then patiently teaching her how to play T-ball. After carefully coaching her and leading her through warm-up exercises, he even sits in the stands, loudly cheering her on as she scores the winning run in her own very first game. “‘You are the best brother a bunny could ever have!’” she burbles. This tale’s a tad blander compared with others centered on P.J. and his sister, but it’s undeniably cheery, with text well structured for burgeoning readers. The all-smiles animal cast in Bowers’ cartoon art features a large and diversely hued family of bunnies sporting immense floppy ears as well as a multispecies crowd of furry onlookers equally varied of color, with one spectator in a wheelchair.
A tale of mutual adoration that hits a sweet note. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9798217032464
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Seasoned beginning readers will enjoy the silliness and empathize with the turtle’s wildly invasive predicament.
A fast-paced rhyming text describes the scene in omniscient narration, which is supplemented by speech bubbles to relate the afflicted turtle’s reactions. “A flock of ducks / flies in a row. / They look and see / a pond below.” As they alight, the startled turtle asks, “Who are you guys?” As the ducks grow more and more rowdy in their aquatic antics, the incensed turtle exclaims, “Hey! Cut it out!” Another two groups of ducks arrive, the first set the members of the rock-’n’-roll band the Screaming Ducks and the next the crew of a food truck amusingly called Freddy Drake’s Pies and Cakes. Now “all kinds of ducks / are on the scene. / Old ducks, young ducks, / even green.” All the ducks are of the white, domestic variety; the green refers to the vexed turtle, who protests several times, “I am not a duck.” Cartoon drawings with thick, black outlines add details to the zaniness, which eventually evolves into a pie-throwing spectacle that completely frustrates the poor turtle and forces everyone to “DUCK!” A thorough cleanup ensues under the turtle’s watchful eyes before, much to his relief, everyone leaves…but then a Camp Muckaduck school bus pulls up and disgorges a (multiracial) slew of human children. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-13-inch double-page spreads viewed at 75% of actual size.)
Seasoned beginning readers will enjoy the silliness and empathize with the turtle’s wildly invasive predicament. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-22291-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
