Yer pirate-lovin’ tender-aged readers will give Pirate Jack a thumbs-up, but they won’t find many surprises, and disability...
A bold, black-bearded pirate gets dressed for the day, describing each item of his pirate garb by color in rollicking, rhyming text.
Jack the pirate awakens at 6 sharp wearing his gray long johns, which serve as both pajamas and the first layer of his costume. He adds a black eye patch (though he appears to have two intact eyeballs), gold earrings, a silver prosthetic hook on one hand, and clothes of many colors on following pages. His outfit includes a brown boot on one leg and a wooden peg on the other. Pirate Jack, who has golden-tan skin, meets his racially diverse “motley crew,” which includes two women pirates. One of the women has a peg leg and the other has a prosthetic hook. As with most children’s books with a pirate theme, these piratical tropes disregard concerns about disability awareness and sensitivity. The rhyming text is spunky and humorous, filled with familiar pirate lingo such as “matey,” “aye, aye,” and “me” and “ye” for “my” and “you.” Computer-generated illustrations use bright, saturated colors and an oversized landscape format with double-page spreads that provide lots of room for amusing details in Jack’s well-furnished stateroom aboard ship. A tiny mouse character with a teeny-tiny eye patch is hidden somewhere within each spread.
Yer pirate-lovin’ tender-aged readers will give Pirate Jack a thumbs-up, but they won’t find many surprises, and disability advocates will find the same old, same old. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7664-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 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
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their...
Less ambitious than Chris Gall’s widely known Dinotrux (2009) and sequels, this British import systematically relegates each dinosaur/construction-equipment hybrid to its most logical job.
The title figures are introduced as bigger than both diggers and dinosaurs, and rhyming text and two construction-helmeted kids show just what these creatures are capable of. Each diggersaur has a specific job to do and a distinct sound effect. The dozersaurus moves rocks with a “SCRAAAAPE!!!” while the rollersaurus flattens lumps with a cheery “TOOT TOOT!!” Each diggersaur is numbered, with 12 in all, allowing this to be a counting book on the sly. As the diggersaurs (not all of which dig) perform jobs that regular construction equipment can do, albeit on a larger scale, there is no particular reason why any of them should have dinosaurlike looks other than just ’cause. Peppy computer art tries valiantly to attract attention away from the singularly unoriginal text. “Diggersaurs dig with bites so BIG, / each SCOOP creates a crater. // They’re TOUGH and STRONG / with necks so long— / they’re super EXCAVATORS!” Far more interesting are the two human characters, a white girl and a black boy, that flit about the pictures offering commentary and action. Much of the fun of the book can be found in trying to spot them on every two-page spread.
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their dino/construction kicks. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-4779-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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