A preschool sibling to Adam Rex’s The True Meaning of Smekday (2007).
Keenly intelligent artwork teeters on the delicious borderline of scariness in a nighttime toy adventure.
A boy runs off the page. “That summer night, for the first time, the toys were left outside.” In the green grass lie seven small playthings. The sky darkens; stars emerge. The toys are quiet, then fretful and panicky—so WonderDoll tells a story. In it, a spaceship beams them all upward. How disconcerting! The alien “probably likes to eat pink felt!” speculates Pink Horse. “It might drool at the toys!” quivers Dinosaur. “Someone might get their stuffing probed!” worries Small Sheep. But the alien looks like a glove wearing pajamas—and it’s sobbing. Hoctopize the alien grieves its own lost snuggle object. The spaceship holds thousands of toys that Hoctopize has collected from gardens all over Earth, seeking its missing Cuddles. Tiny labels catalogue the stolen creatures’ origins (“Picnic Table, Front Lawn, 37 Spoon Drift, West Cutlery”). This tale has a heart of gold, while the art uses comic-book sensibility (horizontal and vertical panels; speech bubbles; ever-changing angles) and a savvy aesthetic to prevent any hint of saccharine. Does it matter whether the journey was WonderDoll’s invention? Blending edginess and childhood reality (the uniqueness of one’s own stuffed toy), this will satisfy many tastes.
A preschool sibling to Adam Rex’s The True Meaning of Smekday (2007). (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-307-97812-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
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Fast and furious action guaranteed to keep new readers laughing and turning pages.
Never underestimate the chaotic fun that magic and an angry bouncing ball can create.
When Frog goes to the library, he borrows a book on magic. He then heads to a nearby park to read up on the skills necessary to becoming “a great magician.” Suddenly, a deflated yellow ball lands with a “Thud!” at his feet. Although he flexes his new magician muscles, Frog’s spells fall as flat as the ball. But when Frog shouts “Phooey!” and kicks the ball away, it inflates to become a big, angry ball. The ball begins to chase Frog, so he seeks shelter in the library—and Frog and ball turn the library’s usual calm into chaos. The cartoon chase crescendos. The ball bounces into the middle of a game of chess, interrupts a puppet show, and crashes into walls and bookcases. Staying just one bounce ahead, Frog runs, hides, grabs a ride on a book cart, and scatters books and papers as he slides across the library furniture before an alligator patron catches the ball and kicks it out the library door. But that’s not the end of the ball….Caple’s tidy panels and pastel-hued cartoons make a surprisingly effective setting for the slapstick, which should have young readers giggling. Simple sentences—often just subject and verb—with lots of repetition propel the action. Frog’s nonsense-word spells (“Poof Wiffle, Bop Bip!”) are both funny and excellent practice in phonetics. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Fast and furious action guaranteed to keep new readers laughing and turning pages. (Graphic early reader. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4341-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
A good choice to share with wriggly listeners, who will soon be joining in.
A Halloween book that rides on the rhythms of “Over in the Meadow.”
Although Halloween rhyming counting books abound, this stands out, with a text that begs to be read aloud and cartoony digital illustrations that add goofy appeal. A girl and two boys set off on Halloween night to go trick-or-treating. As the children leave the cozy, warm glow of their street, readers see a haunted house on a hill, with gravestones dotting the front yard. Climbing the twisty path to the dark estate takes time, so the story turns to the antics inside the house. “At the old haunted house in a room with no sun / lived a warty green witch and her wee witch one. ‘SPELL!’ cried the witch. ‘POOF!’ cried the one. / And they both practiced spells in the room with no sun.” The actions of the scary creatures within may seem odd, but the rhyme must go on: Cats scratch, goblins dust, monsters stir, and mummies mix. Eventually the three kids reach the front door and are invited in for stew, cake and brew. At first shocked by the gruesome fare, the children recover quickly and get caught up in partying with the slightly spooky but friendly menagerie.
A good choice to share with wriggly listeners, who will soon be joining in. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4778-4769-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
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BOOK REVIEW
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