For flights of fancy, stick with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street .
In a tale reminiscent of the song “Hush Little Baby,” a father reassures his kindergartener about how he will get back to him if the old green car finally gives up the ghost.
If the car won’t start, he’ll ride the neighbor’s tractor. But Matthew is too full of “what if”s to accept any answer his father gives. “And if the big red tractor is busy on the farm?” Then dad will be carried to Matthew by Martin, Matthew’s teddy bear. If Martin won’t wake up, the dad will recruit all the birds in the trees to carry him to his son at school. This give-and-take continues through ever more fanciful ideas until dad simply says he will use his legs (exaggeratedly elongated in the illustrations) to fetch Matthew from school. Guillerey’s flat, retro-styled illustrations are full of bold colors and stylized shapes. But some are head-scratchers: on the page when the text tells of dad putting a rabbit under each foot to hop him to school, the picture shows him popping out of a hole, the rabbits already beside it. (Perhaps a literal depiction of the dad standing atop each bunny was a nonstarter?) All of the humans are paper-white with pink cheeks; the father is blond, and the boy has brown hair.
For flights of fancy, stick with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street . (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-77138-362-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
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
SEEN & HEARD
Although a bit on the slight side, this offering is infused with a warm, light humor just right for cuddling up with a young...
This title previously published in the U.K. takes a cozy look at all kinds of kisses.
Walsh’s rhyming text is full of cutesy rhythms: “Kisses on noses, kisses on toes-es. Sudden kisses when you least supposes.” Sometimes the phrasing stumbles: “Who likes to kiss? I do! I do! Even the shy do. Why not try, too?” But toddlers and young preschoolers will probably not mind. They will be too engaged in spotting the lively penguin on each spread and too charmed by Abbot’s winsome illustrations that fittingly extend the wording in the story. Patient dogs queue up for a smooch from a frog prince, cool blue “ ’normous elephants” contrast strikingly with bright red “little tiny ants” and a bewildered monkey endures a smattering of lipstick kisses. Be the kiss small or tall, one to start or end the day, young readers are reminded that “the very best kiss… / is a kiss from you!” Perhaps no big surprise but comforting nonetheless.
Although a bit on the slight side, this offering is infused with a warm, light humor just right for cuddling up with a young tyke or sharing with a gathering for storytime. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Dec. 20, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2769-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2011
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