An atmosphere-rich tale with a strong sense of community for music lovers and cat enthusiasts alike.
In Stewart’s illustrated children’s story, a home full of cats is also full of adventure.
On Lavender Street, in the neighborhood of Gentilly in New Orleans, situated by the railroad and the canal is a shotgun-style house that stands out from the crowd. This isn’t only because of its eclectic blue and purple paint job; its residents include a girl named Eartha and an entire clowder of cats. (“The home was full of love, music, flowers, and kitties.”) Each cat has its own daily routine. Bill Bailey, who is black, white, and curious all over, loves to take walks and learn whatever he can. One day, he is dismayed by all of the humans who don’t understand his meows, so elder cats Toussaint and Pharaoh offer to teach him music, the universal language. Bill rushes back home to tell his feline housemates the plan and they all excitedly join in on the lesson, choosing instruments for themselves and learning to play them. Meanwhile, Eartha returns from work to an empty house and is concerned by her cats’ absence, so she sings the classic tune “Won’t You Come Home, Bill Bailey?” to draw them back. She and the cats are reunited as the felines march down the street as part of a second line parade bound to go down in the neighborhood’s history. This first entry in the Shotgun Shack Kitties series is Stewart’s debut and it is delightfully soaked in the culture of New Orleans, from the architecture to the music. Eartha’s quirky home and talented pets are an American Southern echo of Disney’s The Aristocats, likely to captivate young readers who love everyday animal stories. De Mahy’s illustrations portray Gentilly as vibrant, full of color, and diverse. She depicts Eartha with light brown skin and brown hair, and her neighbors with similar skin tones. One woman wears a hijab.
An atmosphere-rich tale with a strong sense of community for music lovers and cat enthusiasts alike.Pub Date: March 20, 2024
ISBN: 9781662950971
Page Count: 42
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
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