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SHOE DOG

Totally ebullient.

An irrepressible dog can’t resist falling into the same type of mischief over and over again, until something surprising changes his pattern.

This small, wiggly pup bounces upward as a silhouetted woman enters the animal shelter. He longs for a home “warm as soup / and cozy as pie,” full of nose kisses and tummy rubs. And oh, how exciting—the woman takes him home! “That very day, / Shoe Dog chewed through / five high heels, / four flip-flops, / three sneakers, / two boots, / one wing tip.” Scolding—“ ‘BAD DOG!’ / She, Herself said”—and punishment—no petting or access to the Big Bed—see him lying forlornly in a gray-blue space, subdued. But each time new shoes arrive, he tracks down and rips into the fresh box, chomping every shoe with gusto. Consequences ratchet up mildly, but Shoe Dog never learns impulse control as such; instead, unexpectedly, he meets a shoe he’d never, ever chew. Finally he’s welcome “on the Big Bed / in the Land of Upstairs,” curling up blissfully with his new shoe-love. Tillotson uses thick black lines for Shoe Dog’s scribbly, coiled-spring body, smudging charcoal inside his shape to give him substance; scraps of pink and beige mark his pointy ears and muzzle. Motion lines show how he scampers and bounds. The visual angle varies, and shoe-box tissue paper flies through the air.

Totally ebullient. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 25, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-4169-7932-6

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Richard Jackson/Atheneum

Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014

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EXPLORERS OF THE WILD

It will be the very stubborn couch potato who doesn’t set out, walking stick and bag of essentials in hand, to explore after...

Two intrepid explorers celebrate their love of the great outdoors.

On facing pages, the parallel adventures of a young boy and an anthropomorphized bear cub unfold. Both are outfitted as the adventurers they clearly are, sporting bags of essentials (food, light sources, recording devices) and walking sticks, and they each take turns telling the tale. “I love to explore! / It’s my favorite thing to do! // There are so many neat things to see…. / And so many strange things to find….” Each has heard and dismissed parental warnings: they are explorers, and explorers are always prepared for anything. Anything except perhaps running into each other in the woods. But their fear doesn’t last long, and they revel in sharing their adventures. And when the shadows lengthen, they record the memory—with camera and cherry juice on stone—of the “greatest explorer I ever met” and head home. Atkinson’s digital illustrations aren’t far off from those found in animated movies—full of colors and textures and backgrounds that bring nature to life for readers. Postures and facial expressions speak to the wonder both the bear and the boy, dark-haired and with a medium skin tone, feel in the things they discover.

It will be the very stubborn couch potato who doesn’t set out, walking stick and bag of essentials in hand, to explore after reading this. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: April 26, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4847-2340-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016

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THE WIND PLAYS TRICKS

For patient listeners, a fun visit to a mixed-up barnyard.

When a fierce wind descends on the barnyard, the animals hear some odd noises…and they’re coming from their own mouths.

The sudden wind unsettles all the animals on the farm just when they should be getting ready for sleep. Instead, they anxiously “cheep” and “cluck” and “oink” and “quack” and “moooo.” They shift nervously, pull together, and make all sorts of noises. All except Turtle, who tucks into his shell under an old log and sleeps. In the morning, though, the animals get a surprise. Pig says, “Cluck”; the Little Chicks say, “Neigh”; Horse crows, “Cock-a-doodle-doo.” How will they get their proper sounds back? Turtle has an idea, and he enjoys the process so much that he decides to open his mouth the next time the wind plays tricks at the farm: Perhaps he’ll catch a sound all his own. Chua’s cartoon barnyard is bright, and her animals, expressive, their faces and body language slightly anthropomorphized. The edges of the figures sometimes betray their digital origins. Though the tale is humorous and will give lots of opportunity for practicing animal sounds, the audience is hard to pin down, as the young children sure to enjoy mooing and clucking may not have the patience to sit through the somewhat lengthy text.

For patient listeners, a fun visit to a mixed-up barnyard. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: March 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-8075-8735-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Whitman

Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019

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