Still, though the bounce of Wright's verse is welcome, the story is all too slender; for truly satisfying ursine...
Big Bear gets in all kinds of trouble when he takes credit for the work of the wind.
The leaves are burnished gold and orange, birds fill the sky and Big Bear lets out an enormous sneeze. Coincidentally, this occurs just when the wind whirls the leaves right off the trees. Even though the wind tries to explain, Bear thinks that he's responsible and tries to nail the leaves back on. Further up the hill is an apple tree, where the same thing happens: "Just as Big Bear let out a sneeze, / branches shook in a very strong breeze." A flock of geese is resting on the lake, and another gust (simultaneous with a Bear sneeze) sends them flapping away. When Bear claims credit for this as well, the wind loses his temper and pairs his loudest declaration with his strongest gale force: "I do it all! I'm the autumn breeze!" Bear listens and, after scratching his head, says, "You could have told me before," and retires for the winter. Hillebrand's mixed-media illustrations use a bright and appealing palette; his evocation of the wind is particularly charming.
Still, though the bounce of Wright's verse is welcome, the story is all too slender; for truly satisfying ursine braggadocio, try How Chipmunk Got His Stripes, by Joseph and James Bruchac, illustrated by José Aruego and Ariane Dewey (2001). (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5959-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Kids will find the premise comical, but as far as a rewarding Christmas story is concerned, a dog-bites-Santa joke “is just...
In this rhyming story, the latest in a series from Australia, Pig the pug celebrates Christmas in his characteristically greedy fashion.
Pig’s best pal, Trevor the dachshund, asks Santa for “something nice” in a neatly printed letter shown on the front endpapers. But Pig has a Christmas list a mile long, ranging from a motorcycle to longer legs, reproduced in blocky print on the back endpapers. Wearing a red Santa suit, Pig stays up waiting for Santa’s arrival. When Santa leaves only a few presents, Pig yells at him rudely and tries to detain him by biting “poor old Santa’s big, rosy behind!” Pig doesn’t let go, and he is dragged along as Santa returns to his sleigh, with Pig complaining that his pile of presents “is just not enough.” (Sharp-eyed children may wonder how Pig talks when his teeth are clenched on Santa’s rear end.) The greedy pug finally falls from the flying sleigh, and in “a real Christmas miracle,” he is saved by landing on an angel at the top of an outdoor Christmas tree. The visual humor of the dog clamped onto Santa’s seat is funny (if a dog biting someone can be funny), but Pig’s greedy, ill-mannered comments to Santa are not. Mixed-media illustrations emphasize Pig’s bulging eyes, which are echoed in the similarly buggy eyes of Santa (who is white), his reindeer, and even Trevor the dachshund.
Kids will find the premise comical, but as far as a rewarding Christmas story is concerned, a dog-bites-Santa joke “is just not enough.” (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-22122-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A charmingly loud and lighthearted friendship story.
A freckle-faced white child with a mass of red curls piled three times the height of her head is flying her kite near a snowcapped mountaintop when—“snap!”—the string breaks, and the toy is blown into a sleeping bear’s cave, coming to rest on his belly.
Readers are cued into the nonscary absurdity as they observe the orange-furred bear napping in a Froggy Hollow Summer Camp T-shirt stretched across his huge belly, a tiny teddy bear tucked in his arm. As the girl reaches for her kite, the bear rolls over, crushing it: “crunch!” The girl is shocked into a fit of righteous anger, blaming the bear for breaking her toy. “HORRIBLE BEAR!”—and so begins the refrain of her angry tantrum. The team that brought readers the adorable Wolfie the Bunny (2014) continues their success here. OHora’s paintings are boldly colored and layered: a yellow stuffed bunny wears a teal jacket; the purple-and-black–clad little girl strides in red Converse high-top sneakers over a pea-green lawn. The limited language and solid acrylic paintings work together beautifully to convey emotion. When the little girl realizes that the bear didn’t break her toy on purpose, one word speaks volumes: “Oh.” Her face fills the entire page, her feelings indicated with black dot eyes, a couple of curved lines, and a black dot mouth.
A charmingly loud and lighthearted friendship story. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-28283-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
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