A funny little tale of pet love.
Why won’t this dog behave? (Well, it may be obvious to some….)
The first and only thing on this little kid’s birthday list was a dog. However, when the dog emerges from the polka-dot gift box, it turns out to be a bad one. Rocky won’t come when she’s called. Rocky would rather play with the leash than go for a walk like good dogs. She doesn’t like other dogs, but she is a good climber (in fact, she climbs trees when other dogs are around). The eager protagonist tries to teach Rocky dog tricks, but Rocky is just not a good dog! What does Rocky like to do? Play with shoelaces, sleep in the sun, sleep on the laundry, and play in the water—of the fish tank. All that makes Rocky’s owner think that her bad dog “with black-and-white fur. Pointy ears. And a cute little nose [might] make a pretty great cat.” Boldt’s tale of a bad dog will have young audiences hollering (and giggling) at the little protagonist, who keeps insisting the obviously feline birthday present is a dog. And what cat would make a good dog? The illustrations have an animation aesthetic—the expressive child (who has olive skin and straight, black hair) and the pudgy calico are adorable—and provide all of the laughs as they slyly contradict the protagonist’s narration.
A funny little tale of pet love. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-4797-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
So sweet it’ll have readers heading for their toothbrushes.
Another entry in the how-much-I-love-you genre.
The opening spread shows a blue elephant-and-child pair, the child atop the adult, white hearts arcing between their uplifted trunks: “You’re a gift and a blessing in every way. / I love you more each and every day.” From there, the adult elephant goes on to tell the child how they are loved more than all sorts of things, some rhyming better than others: “I love you more than all the spaghetti served in Rome, // and more than each and every dog loves her bone.” More than stars, fireflies, “all the languages spoken in the world,” “all the dancers that have ever twirled,” all the kisses ever given and miles ever driven, “all the adventures you have ahead,” and “all the peanut butter and jelly spread on bread!” Representative of all the world’s languages are “I love you” in several languages (with no pronunciation help): English, Sioux, French, German, Swahili, Spanish, Hawaiian, Chinese, and Arabic (these two last in Roman characters only). Bold colors and simple illustrations with no distracting details keep readers’ focus on the main ideas. Dashed lines give the artwork (and at least one word on every spread) the look of 2-D sewn toys.
So sweet it’ll have readers heading for their toothbrushes. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Dec. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4926-8398-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original...
A sweetened, condensed version of the best-selling picture book, The Kissing Hand.
As in the original, Chester Raccoon is nervous about attending Owl’s night school (raccoons are nocturnal). His mom kisses him on the paw and reminds him, “With a Kissing Hand… / We’ll never be apart.” The text boils the story down to its key elements, causing this version to feel rushed. Gone is the list of fun things Chester will get to do at school. Fans of the original may be disappointed that this board edition uses a different illustrator. Gibson’s work is equally sentimental, but her renderings are stiff and flat in comparison to the watercolors of Harper and Leak. Very young readers will probably not understand that Owl’s tree, filled with opossums, a squirrel, a chipmunk and others, is supposed to be a school.
Parents of toddlers starting school or day care should seek separation-anxiety remedies elsewhere, and fans of the original shouldn’t look to this version as replacement for their page-worn copies. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-933718-77-4
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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