A charming and expansive view of a common childhood excursion.
In this French import, translated by McCalmont, an observant child experiences the wonders of an outdoor city park.
Narrated by the child in the first person, the book begins with a stylized map of an impressive park complete with greenhouse, garden, petting zoo, and bandstand as well as the more typical pond, playground, picnic area, lawn, and small wooded area. On each verso page, clearly labeled pictures catalog items—critters, flowers, trees, fruit, vegetables, garden tools, and more—or activities found in different areas of the park, while the facing page shows the boy enjoying a discovery or favorite moment in the featured location. Orzel’s park is extremely stimulating—the narrator sees people playing bocce and table tennis, riding horses, and walking on a tightrope…not exactly everyday occurrences in most real-life parks. The upside-down picture of the playground is confusing until one reads the text: “My headstand gets better the more I practice.” Another map at the end offers choices for getting home from the park: bus, skateboard, moped, etc. A final double-page spread displays 40 items with the caption, “Do you remember where in the park we saw these things?” The protagonist has straight brown hair and coral-pink skin; their ethnicity and gender are unspecified, although the publisher’s copy refers to them as Sam. Background characters have a mix of skin tones and body builds. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A charming and expansive view of a common childhood excursion. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-73760-324-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Blue Dot Kids Press
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A muddled message shoots for the moon but never quite gets all the way off the ground.
A little mouse experiences BIG changes thanks to a spectacular talent.
Dee’s a singer to her core. She croons absolutely everywhere, so when her teacher Miss Pink suggests that her students bring in something that symbolizes what they enjoy doing, Dee brings in a song. As she sings it, however, her joy causes her to physically grow huge! At first this makes her feel special, but as the day goes on she feels lonely and out of place. Shrinking back to her normal size, she worries that this means she can never sing again. But thanks to the encouragement of her mother and little sister, she realizes that being special is nothing to be ashamed of. However, though her classmates have skills of their own, only Dee changes, indicating that some talents are more transformative than others. After all, while everyone is enthralled by Dee, Ren the turtle’s talent for drawing a replica of a space station is something he “made everyone watch.” The true standout in this show comes from Sinquett’s dynamic art, capable of encompassing the emotional highs and lows of elementary school kids. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A muddled message shoots for the moon but never quite gets all the way off the ground. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-07806-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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