Fans will be in sheep-y stitches.
It’s sheep vs. chicken in a farmyard talent showdown!
Film studio Aardman’s Shaun the sheep and the other denizens of the barnyard at Mossy Bottom Farm are having a normal day…well a normal-for-them day: Bitzer the sheepdog is listening to his headphones, and Timmy the lamb is flying a kite made of underwear (with disastrous results). The Farmer suddenly gets excited about something he’s read in the newspaper, a Mossy Bottom’s Got Talent competition. He straight away starts practicing his balloon animals; unfortunately, they all look deformed. Shaun and company decide to have their own talent show, which becomes a sheep-vs.-chicken throwdown when the chickens laugh quite cruelly at Shirley the sheep’s dance-act practice. Things look dismal for the sheep in the competition until Shaun hears Shirley singing…but after her embarrassment in front of the chickens, can he convince her to sing in front of the whole farm? The characters from the television show (and upcoming movie) Shaun the Sheep induce smiles in this first in a tie-in series. Much like the stop-motion shows, there is no dialogue to speak of; all is narration and description. The sight gags Aardman projects are famous for work surprisingly well in this mostly text/comics hybrid tale.
Fans will be in sheep-y stitches. (final art and activities not seen) (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 25, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7535-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2014
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor
Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.
The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
© 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.
