by Mike Ornstein and illustrated by Lisa Kopelke ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2009
“Bounce with The Daddy as he plays his fiddle. He’s eight long legs with a dot in the middle.” The poem, a mix of fact (both zoological and musical) and fancy, depicts a harvestman, or daddy longlegs, as a funky creature playing the blues, with a number of insects keeping time and accompanying him with the beat. A variety of settings, from a cafe for insects to a house from a human perspective, provides the backdrop to the poem. Kopelke’s illustrations of acrylic and colored pencil are alive with all kinds of creepy-crawlies—most decked out in groovy shades—who get down with the Daddy on multiple instruments and convene for a climactic concert onstage. For all their liveliness, however, the illustrations suffer from their depiction of the title character as a corpulent, short-legged fellow, which hardly matches the text’s description or children’s firsthand observations of the creature. A glossary of blues terms, definitions of the instruments played and a short description of the harvestman and the history of the blues is appended. The jazzy poem will be fun for sharing. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4027-4359-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
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by Mike Ornstein ; illustrated by Pauline Gregory
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by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010
Hee haw.
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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
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by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley
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by Doug MacLeod ; illustrated by Craig Smith
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by Alex Vern & illustrated by Alex Vern ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2001
The lifecycle of the frog is succinctly summarized in this easy reader for children reading at the late first-grade level. In just one or two sentences per page, Vern details the amazing metamorphosis of the frog from egg to tadpole to adult, even injecting a little humor despite the tight word count. (“Watch out fly! Mmmm!) Large, full-color photographs on white backgrounds clearly illustrate each phase of development. Without any mention of laying eggs or fertilization, the title might be a bit misleading, but the development from black dot egg to full-grown frog is fascinating. A simple chart of the three main lifecycle steps is also included. Lifecycles are part of the standard curriculum in the early elementary grades, and this will be a welcome addition to school and public libraries, both for its informational value and as an easy reader. (Nonfiction/easy reader. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-15-216304-2
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Green Light/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001
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