A creative and enjoyable interpretation of a timely issue.
Animal pals participate in activities and jobs that require masks in this picture book.
Billick’s story follows a pig, an elephant, and a mouse wearing masks in various situations. The author explains that in addition to being worn for fun, costume purposes, or practical reasons (to help people sleep), masks are used in all sorts of professions. The author discusses types of masks that are worn for particular jobs and why they are necessary. For example, “Chemists wear masks to protect their eyes, just in case their experiments go awry.” Other mask wearers mentioned here include baseball catchers, scuba divers, doctors, superheroes, and more. Finally, the book touches on the importance of donning masks (although not explicitly mentioned in the story, they help reduce the spread of Covid-19). The tale implores readers to wear their own masks, clearly explaining how they “help keep everyone healthy. It is something simple that we can do, to help protect me and help protect you.” In this engaging and inventive story, the significance of mask wearing is portrayed in a way that will be relatable to young readers. Billick’s illustrations are hand-drawn and have a simple quality. They mostly show the friendly-looking animals in a wide range of mask-wearing scenarios. For example, when the tale notes, “Some masks cover your entire head,” the elephant is depicted wearing an astronaut suit and helmet in space.
A creative and enjoyable interpretation of a timely issue.Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73569-150-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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