This tender free-verse poem commemorates a baby finch found on a Manhattan street corner by Holly, the author’s future wife. The mother finch having vanished, Holly takes Stellina home; the two (later three, with Matteo) become constant companions, as Stellina learns to feed herself, and then to fly—always seeming to ask, “And now? What’s going to happen now?” Singing along with the piano, sometimes lighting on the artist’s head or pencil, often sitting pensively at the windowsill, she becomes a permanent resident for the eight years of her life. Pericoli pairs his brief, intimate narrative to elegantly composed views of a small, round, alert bird surrounded by homey details that quickly fade out into white space. A beguiling, urban companion for Christine O’Connell George’s Hummingbird Nest: A Journal of Poems (2004). (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: March 14, 2006
ISBN: 0-375-83273-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A humorous story about an unusual pet. Rufus has but one wish—a dog. His stay-at-home Dad does not agree. His list of reasons not to get a dog extends over two pages. Rufus’s sympathetic mom brings home a guinea pig, which Rufus has expressly said he does not want. To his surprise, though, the guinea pig (which he sullenly names Fido) behaves like a dog! She obeys every command Rufus gives her, plays tug-o’-war and even chews shoes. His best friend wishes she were his when, during a Frisbee game, out of nowhere, she retrieves the disc and brings it to Rufus. The family decides to return Fido to the pet store, but a classmate is willing to buy her to replace her hamster—and it’s then that Rufus begins to have second thoughts. Jennings provides no explanation as to why Fido acts like a dog, asking readers to accept the absurdity along with Rufus. The school characters are fairly one dimensional, but the undeniably funny plot moves along, and readers into beginning chapter books should enjoy this wry story of wish fulfillment. (Animal fantasy. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 13, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-60684-053-5
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Egmont USA
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2010
Baker (Big Fat Hen, 1994, etc.) engages in more number play, posing ducklings in every combination of groups, e.g., “Splashing as they leap and dive/7 ducklings, 2 plus 5.” Using a great array of streaked and dappled papers, Baker creates a series of leafy collage scenes for the noisy, exuberant ducklings to fill, tucking in an occasional ladybug or other small creature for sharp-eyed pre-readers to spot. Children will regretfully wave goodbye as the ducks fly off in neat formation at the end of this brief, painless introduction to several basic math concepts. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-292858-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999
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