Kids will snort at the antics of the simultaneously exasperating and endearing Dog while feeling sympathetic to Cat.
A clever use of reverse vocabulary tells a story of the cohabitation and uneasy friendship of Dog and Cat.
Cat is comfortably “Asleep” on top of a ball of yarn when suddenly Dog loudly leaps through an open window, startling Cat “Awake.” As Dog jumps “Over” the chair Cat had been dozing on, Cat immediately retreats “Under” it. Contrasting single words, the sole text, are presented in, mostly, double-page illustrations that extend the story effortlessly through expressive black-outlined cartoon scenes. A happy, frolicking, lovable Dog wants to play but seems only to succeed in bothering housemate Cat, who becomes increasingly annoyed, clearly wishing to be left alone. As beleaguered Cat runs “Outside” and then back “Inside” to hide, an enthusiastic Dog pursues, first deeming Cat “Lost” and then “Found” after espying a large lump under the rug. (Readers old enough to recognize the lump as Cat will be in stitches at Dog’s puzzlement.) In the end, while Cat wishes to be hidden and “Apart,” Dog insists that they be “Together”; the final illustration finds smiling Dog with a leg wrapped around a reluctant Cat, whose eyes are rolled upward. Twohy’s amusing, animated drawings perfectly reflect the divergent personalities of his characters and deliver a well-developed tale in just 28 words.
Kids will snort at the antics of the simultaneously exasperating and endearing Dog while feeling sympathetic to Cat. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-246933-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
A sweet, springtime-themed reworking of a beloved tale.
The classic picture book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989) gets a makeover for Easter as the letters of the alphabet locate and decorate eggs.
The mission is simple: “Chicka chicka peek peek. / Everybody seek seek! / Find all the eggs / in the pretty pink tree.” The letters are making their way up the flowering tree in search of the hidden eggs when a “SNEEZE!” scatters everyone and the eggs fall and crack. Luckily, a bunny hops by with a haul of new ones, which the letters then paint and bedazzle, eventually sharing the newly decorated eggs with a group of bunnies. This picture book is a successfully Easter-fied version of the original: The letters go up; the letters fall down. Truly, though, that’s all the preschool crowd needs. Chung’s illustrations are simple and familiar, a direct echo of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. The letters appear in colorful, bold, block form. The book has few added details, just focal images like the tree and its pink flowers, the colorful eggs, tufts of grass, and some friendly rabbits. The alphabet appears in order (both upper- and lowercase letters) at the book’s open and close. The rhyming text follows the iconic cadence of the source material, making for a worthy read-aloud that will keep little hands turning pages.
A sweet, springtime-themed reworking of a beloved tale. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9781665990646
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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