Different preferences don’t impede inter-species friendship here.
Entertaining oneself is good, but finding a new friend (and a lost boomerang) is even better.
In this series entry, Kangaroo is bored, but she quickly finds inspiration in a cloud and digs her boomerang from her cluttered pouch. When Boomerang fails to return and she has to wait, she distracts herself with shadow-boxing and then with making a kangaroo-shaped “sand queen.” Hopping into the forest to search, Kangaroo bumps into a tree, then introduces herself to the creature she’s knocked loose. Kangaroo would like to play, but koalas “sleep by day.” She gives him a ride in her pouch, but Koala gets motion sick, and they quickly return to his tree. Though Koala wants to nap, Kangaroo notices that his “two pairs of toes” (koalas have five front toes) would be great at boomerang-flinging, and Koala, realizing that the missing boomerang is in his tree, retrieves it. Sleeping forgotten, they become friends, and he asks Kangaroo to teach him to throw it. Of the three discussion questions that follow, one asks about story comprehension; the other two ask readers to connect with similar experiences they might have had. The four-beat lines rhyme, but uneven line-lengths, varying from eight to 13 or 15 syllables, can make for rough reading aloud. Cartoonish grayscale illustrations are not cute or cuddly, but they do show the action. Discussion questions at the end of the book offer a jumping-off point for conversations about playtime and differences.
Different preferences don’t impede inter-species friendship here. (Easy reader. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781631637834
Page Count: 48
Publisher: North Star Editions
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available.
A ghost learns to appreciate his differences.
The little ghost protagonist of this title is unusual. He’s a quilt, not a lightweight sheet like his parents and friends. He dislikes being different despite his mom’s reassurance that his ancestors also had unconventional appearances. Halloween makes the little ghost happy, though. He decides to watch trick-or-treaters by draping over a porch chair—but lands on a porch rail instead. A mom accompanying her daughter picks him up, wraps him around her chilly daughter, and brings him home with them! The family likes his looks and comforting warmth, and the little ghost immediately feels better about himself. As soon as he’s able to, he flies out through the chimney and muses happily that this adventure happened only due to his being a quilt. This odd but gently told story conveys the importance of self-respect and acceptance of one’s uniqueness. The delivery of this positive message has something of a heavy-handed feel and is rushed besides. It also isn’t entirely logical: The protagonist could have been a different type of covering; a blanket, for instance, might have enjoyed an identical experience. The soft, pleasing illustrations’ palette of tans, grays, white, black, some touches of color, and, occasionally, white text against black backgrounds suggest isolation, such as the ghost feels about himself. Most humans, including the trick-or-treating mom and daughter, have beige skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 66.2% of actual size.)
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6447-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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