bookshelf

WITHOUT WINGS, MOTHER, HOW CAN I FLY?

Name: WITHOUT WINGS, MOTHER, HOW CAN I FLY?
Author: Norma Farber
ISBN: 0-8050-3380-7

by Norma Farber & illustrated by Keiko Narahashi ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1998

bookshelf

Farber’s comforting question-and-answer session between a boy and his mother forms the basis for Narahashi’s exuberant scenes of sharing. “Spittle bugs blow bubbles, Can I do that?” the boy asks. “With suds and a pipe,” his mom replies. Always, he looks to the world around him, wondering how he can emulate the interesting things he sees. Always his mother provides a way: To change color as a chameleon does, she suggests he change his coat; to stay as snug as a caterpillar in its cocoon, she tells him to snuggle up in his sleeping bag. Narahashi’s soft watercolor washes make the pictures as compact as the text, while the jacket painting, of the mother’s skirt twirling as she spins the child around off his feet, sets the tone and invites readers into the pages. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: March 1, 1998

ISBN: 0-8050-3380-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1998

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BOY WHO LONGED FOR A LIFT
by Norma Farber & illustrated by Brian Selznick

- BOOK REVIEW
I SWIM AN OCEAN IN MY SLEEP
by Norma Farber & illustrated by Elivia Savadier

- BOOK REVIEW
WHEN IT SNOWED THAT NIGHT
by Norma Farber & illustrated by Petra Mathers

bookshelf

DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE SLEIGH!

by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2023

A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.

bookshelf

Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.

This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”

A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023

ISBN: 9781454952770

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Union Square Kids

Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FRUSTRATING BOOK!
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems

- BOOK REVIEW
THE PIGEON WILL RIDE THE ROLLER COASTER!
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems

- BOOK REVIEW
IT'S A SIGN!
by Jarrett Pumphrey & Jerome Pumphrey with Mo Willems ; illustrated by Jarrett Pumphrey & Jerome Pumphrey

bookshelf

GOOD NIGHT, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 22, 2019

A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.

bookshelf

Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!

Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.

A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)