by Michelle Robinson ; illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2017
Satisfying robot high jinks.
Teamwork + trial and error = a happy robot and an ear-splitting racket.
A curious fox starts the proceedings when it looks in a box and a robot head inside says, “Boooo.” In cumulative fashion, the Nosy Fox’s tinkering sets off a chain of events in which it is emulated by other creatures, such as a Wicked Witch who “flicked a switch,” a Crocodile who “turned the dial,” and a Blue Gnu who “twisted the screw.” With each modification the robot emits wilder and wackier sounds. Adults reading to large groups will get great mileage out of this uniquely mechanical medley, which cumulates on verso following each interaction: “Clang! Flash! Tippa-tappa! Ooh! Zap! Click! Bang! Boooo.” Finally nothing works, until a small white child arrives, armed with a skate key. The kid quickly takes charge, instructs the others what to do, and after a cacophony of clinking and clanking, a grateful, tearful robot takes its leave. Gentle rhymes add a great deal of pleasure to the reading, and most scan beautifully, though some American readers may stumble over “the Eager Beaver pulled the lever.” The conclusion too is not free from confusion. Was this reconstruction the point all along or a happy end product of these creatures’ collective curiosity? Ruzzier’s art, given free rein, offers no answers but enlivens the fiasco, unapologetically ratcheting up the chaos.
Satisfying robot high jinks. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-58652-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
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by Karen Jameson ; illustrated by Marc Boutavant ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 27, 2020
Sweet fare for bed- or naptimes, with a light frosting of natural history.
A sonorous, soporific invitation to join woodland creatures in bedding down for the night.
As in her Moon Babies, illustrated by Amy Hevron (2019), Jameson displays a rare gift for harmonious language and rhyme. She leads off with a bear: “Come home, Big Paws. / Berry picker / Honey trickster / Shadows deepen in the glen. / Lumber back inside your den.” Continuing in the same pattern, she urges a moose (“Velvet Nose”), a deer (“Tiny Hooves”), and a succession of ever smaller creatures to find their nooks and nests as twilight deepens in Boutavant’s woodsy, autumnal scenes and snow begins to drift down. Through each of those scenes quietly walks an alert White child (accompanied by an unusually self-controlled pooch), peering through branches or over rocks at the animals in the foregrounds and sketching them in a notebook. The observer’s turn comes round at last, as a bearded parent beckons: “This way, Small Boots. / Brave trailblazer / Bright stargazer / Cabin’s toasty. Blanket’s soft. / Snuggle deep in sleeping loft.” The animals go unnamed, leaving it to younger listeners to identify each one from the pictures…if they can do so before the verses’ murmurous tempo closes their eyes.
Sweet fare for bed- or naptimes, with a light frosting of natural history. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7063-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
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by Kim T. Griswell ; illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 6, 2013
But it is the parting sentence that will hit home with everyone: “But Rufus loved storytime most of all… / …because it gave...
Rufus Leroy Williams III is determined to learn how to read, but can he convince Principal Lipid to allow a pig in school?
Rufus makes the best of his illiteracy by imagining his own stories to go with the pictures in his favorite book, but still he longs to read. The tiny pig knows just how to solve his problem, though: With a backpack, he can go to school. But Principal Lipid seems to think it takes more than a backpack to attend school—if you are a pig, that is, since pigs are sure to wreak all sorts of havoc in school: track mud, start food fights, etc. Rufus decides a lunchbox is just the ticket, but the principal feels differently. Maybe a blanket for naptime? Or promises not to engage in specific behaviors? Nope. But the real necessary items were with Rufus all along—a book and the desire to learn to read it. Gorbachev’s ink-and-watercolor illustrations emphasize Rufus’ small size, making both his desire and the principal’s rejection seem that much larger. Parents and teachers beware: The humorous pages of imagined, naughty behavior may be more likely to catch children’ eyes than Rufus’ earnestly good behavior.
But it is the parting sentence that will hit home with everyone: “But Rufus loved storytime most of all… / …because it gave him room to dream.” (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4549-0416-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2013
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by Kim T. Griswell ; illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
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