Just doggone blah.
There's neither bark nor bite to be found in this brief ode to a toddler favorite.
Uninspired rhymes describe individual dogs' physical appearance (shaggy, little, etc.) or their character (including stubborn, lazy or sad). Awkward phrases are expressed with a forced exuberance, unlikely to inspire any potential canine enthusiasts. “Big dog, big dog, what a giant you are. / You're almost as big as a little car!” A husky bulldog receives a portrayal that's more stereotypical than original: “Fat dog, fat dog, just look at you eat / I think you've had too many treats!” Each puppy boldly dominates its page, while visual elements (such as a bone) extend to the facing page, where the text is placed. The conclusion places a mirror in the center of a facial outline; the gushing voice encourages youngsters to imagine their similarities to the pups. Static expressions keep motions frozen in time. The uniform textual layout fails to provide enough variety to capture young children's interest, but some examples cast a knowing wink to adult pet-owners, who may recall familiar experiences (as when the hound trembles when the vacuum cleaner approaches). The feline companion (Cats! Cats!) receives the same trite treatment.
Just doggone blah. (Picture book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-61067-041-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
Two one-dimensional detection cases of the sort that seem to be proliferating. These feature the Bloodhound Gang of TV's 3-2-1 Contact. In The Case of the Cackling Ghost, Professor Bloodhound's three young employees—ages 10, 15, and 16—are summoned to a large country house, where an old woman is bothered by nightly visits from a ghost. The ghost, the trio soon discovers, is really clumps of moths attracted by pheromones—an illusion cooked up by the woman's debt-ridden nephew who hopes to frighten her into turning over her precious, but reputedly curse-ridden necklace. In . . . Princess Tomrorow, the gang is called as witnesses for a shady couple who pretend to predict horse-race results—but the corroborating letter received by the agency has actually been mailed after the race. The one they witnessed being mailed before the race has been invalidated by a wet but deliberately glueless postage stamp. They're both clever tricks, but of a sort that usually come five or ten to a volume. There's no attempt to flesh out the puzzles, and not a trace of the Fleischman wit and vigor.
Pub Date: April 1, 1981
ISBN: 0394946731
Page Count: 63
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1981
Little ones will delight in reading and playing this game again and again.
A wonderfully interactive 1990 Gomi creation that has been translated into English at last.
The board book opens wide to become nine different faces with two die-cut eyeholes that invite readers to use them as masks. This peekaboo game is played with mostly animals, such as a bear, a cat, a mouse, a penguin and a frog. The text encourages youngsters to guess what each animal is with a one-sentence clue on the upper-left corner of one page and the answer on the upper-right: “I like to eat honey. / I am a bear. // I like to chase mice. / I am a cat.” The endeavor takes a delightfully silly turn with the introduction of a robot that enjoys fixing things and a cheerful monster that likes to tickle. The last spread presents a brown-skinned child of unspecified gender who says, “I like to play peekaboo. / I am your friend.” Gomi’s flat watercolor cartoons in muted hues using simplified forms are perfect for peekaboo. Since many toddlers can be scared of masks, the small size of the book, which will only cover part of an adult face, and the friendly tone of the art, make the fun nonthreatening.
Little ones will delight in reading and playing this game again and again. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: May 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4521-0835-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
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