by Meredith Rusu ; illustrated by Jen Oxley & Erica Kepler ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2020
A new twist on a timeless classic for brand-new readers.
Clifford’s back for a BIG adventure!
Clifford the Big Red Dog, an iconic children’s-literature character since 1963, is making a reappearance on television and in books for children, complete with a new look and a new ability, one even more powerful than his big size and big heart. For the first time, Clifford and Emily Elizabeth can talk to each other and share stories. These two have always gone on adventures together, but their newfound communication honors the bonds many children have with their pets. It’s Birdwell Island’s birthday, and Clifford leads a special parade in the island’s honor, a parade that grows and grows as all the residents join in, bringing balloons, banners, and confetti. It’s a BIG, Clifford-sized parade! Birdwell Island is full of people of all shapes, sizes, and colors—embracing and celebrating inclusion and diversity. Themes of togetherness, celebration, collaboration, and community run deep through this book, and, if previous Clifford properties are any indication, they will through the forthcoming television show as well. Lively illustrations seek to honor the traditions of Clifford by including both the slightly rough and scratchy style Norman Bridwell brought to the original books as well as the smoother, brighter style of the previous TV show while also offering novel palette colors and facial features to characters new and old.
A new twist on a timeless classic for brand-new readers. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-57713-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More by Meredith Rusu
BOOK REVIEW
by Meredith Rusu ; illustrated by Martín Morón
BOOK REVIEW
by Meredith Rusu ; illustrated by Ángela Atuesta ; Creator Brigette Allen
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 22, 2019
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More by Alice Schertle
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph
BOOK REVIEW
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph
by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010
Hee haw.
Awards & Accolades
Likes
69
Our Verdict
GET IT
IndieBound Bestseller
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
Share your opinion of this book
More by Craig Smith
BOOK REVIEW
by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley
BOOK REVIEW
by Doug MacLeod ; illustrated by Craig Smith
BOOK REVIEW
by Adam Osterweil and illustrated by Craig Smith
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
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.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.