Jabar illustrates two of O’Neill’s early poems with vivid images from dawn to dark. In the first, morning begins with a father helping his children get ready to catch the school bus, as the busy sounds of day unfold and conclude with the return of momma with a new baby. Pastel illustrations convey warmth within a family and beyond to the community. Noisy daytime words conjure indelible impressions conveying sounds: “clatter,” “whirring,” “crackle.” Energetic forms move through the day and into night, building a contrast between morning and evening, bright and dark, bustling and calm. In the second poem, characters fill the night with “whispering,” “tiptoe,” “squeakings,” and “snores.” The poetry concludes as night and snow fall. Palette and form echo the gentle tone of the poetry. Round figures enclosed in ellipses, rectangles, circles, move forward with diagonals and curving lines. Illustrations filled with familial love create an early opportunity for a reading ritual replete with the best examples of onomatopoetic text. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2003
ISBN: 0-374-37135-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Melanie Kroupa/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2003
A delightfully clever read-aloud that will elicit noisy giggles.
Sound effects span the alphabet in Ford’s comedic concept book.
This book describes each letter of the alphabet—and a few diagraphs, such as ch and th—using both familiar and unusual sound effects. A few sounds are words readers might find in the dictionary (clank, glitch), but many are invented; “E is for ERT!” for example—the sound that a car’s brakes make. In each case, the spelling emphasizes how a person might sound out the strange sound effect, helped along by chosen fonts: “SKLORSH!” the sound of wet sneakers, is depicted in a gooey, dripping typeface, while the “VVVIP!” of an alien vessel has an appropriately science-fictional look. Ford’s rhymes are rhythmic and fun to read aloud, and the inclusion of diagraphs makes this a good choice for emergent readers despite some challenging vocabulary. For instance, the book effectively highlights the difference in sounds between t and th: “THOK! When you’re chopping a log and you give it a whock.” Each page features a humorous black-and-white cartoon from illustrator Peralta; their sharp contrast, precise linework, and vivid humor will grab young readers’ attention. The overall effect is reminiscent of Shel Silverstein’s works, offering adults a sense of nostalgia while sharing the book with kids.
A delightfully clever read-aloud that will elicit noisy giggles.Pub Date: July 11, 2022
ISBN: 979-8-986152-20-2
Page Count: 38
Publisher: H Bar Press
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Light doses of natural history, but better written and more somniferous bedtime reads abound.
Animals from lions and elephants to crocodiles and anacondas bed down.
Actually, when it comes to the anaconda, “no one really knows if it actually does sleep.” But that’s not the only poetic license the father-and-son co-authors take as they record in stumbling metrics (“An ostrich is a bird that’s incredibly tall. / Its eggs can be bigger than a softball”) and a notably loose rhyme scheme not only where, but how various animals larger than those in Steven J. Simmons’ Where Do Creatures Sleep at Night? (2021), illustrated by Harper, first spend their days and then enjoy their downtime. The connection between text and images isn’t all that firm either, as the silverback gorilla gets male pronouns and the pride of lions collective ones, but all the rest of the animals are nongendered as its even though they appear to be mothers, since Harper depicts them alone with offspring in cozy proximity. An opening spread of toy animals held by variously toned hands hints at unsurprising closing scenes of human children, including a brown-skinned child, taking the final couplet to heart: “Then at night after you’re fed, / you snuggle up in your own sweet bed!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Light doses of natural history, but better written and more somniferous bedtime reads abound. (Informational picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-62354-143-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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