A winning example of less is more.
Can Bert do it? Can he take the plunge off the branch and launch himself into the yonder?
In this sweet-toned, encouraging, minimalist picture book for young listeners, Könnecke has set up a simple tableau for all but the last few pages. Page right: a few leaves, a hint of a nest and a branch, along which Bert, a little (except for his beak) red bird, troops back and forth. Page left: a great, white expanse, void except for a doodley cloud or two. Bert walks to the end of the branch. He fluffs his feathers. He walks back, then returns with a banana. He eats the banana and peers over the end of the branch. “Come on, Bert,” urges the text. Bert waffles. “Bert? / BERT!” Bert launches himself into the ether, covering his eyes with a wing, which makes flying problematical. (“Help,” he says in tiny letters as gravity takes hold.) But—ha!—surprise: Bert’s jumping into a swimming hole. Pretty tricky, pretty clever even. Bert’s three pals in the water cheer for Bert: “When Bert says he’ll do something, he does it.” Not a bad message, either, with a delivery as light as a feather.
A winning example of less is more. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-927271-03-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gecko Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A beguiling read-aloud for more than princess-and-dragon lovers.
The comforting friendship between a young girl and an enormous dragon deepens.
In Lovabye Dragon (2012), Joosse shared a hopeful tale of sweet friendship between an unlikely pair. Moving on from the first book, the friendship continues to grow here with an innocent game of hide-and-seek. Doesn’t Girl see the dragon hiding behind a very small rock? Both children and adults reading this story will chuckle, though for slightly different reasons. The two friends delight in their togetherness. When Girl takes her turn to hide, she runs to a faraway hidey-hole and becomes lost in the night, separated from Dragon. “But she cried silver tears / worry worry tears / and her heart thumped a sound / a trem-below sound / that only Dragon friends, / very very special friends, can hear.” So summoned, the distressed Dragon flies to her rescue: “I am here,” he rumbles; Girl whispers, “You’re a dear.” Although the theme of rescue seems similar to the first title, the thoughtfully constructed, rhythmic text sprinkled with clever neologisms moves the action forward, while the comforting palette of hazy grays, blues, and browns keeps the distress minimal. The teary and frightened Girl shines in her starlike yellow gown, muted yet hope-filled on the dreamy pages.
A beguiling read-aloud for more than princess-and-dragon lovers. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6882-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2015
A humorous rhyming romp in which the usual fairy-tale villains are friends. (Picture book. 3-6)
Alice, the princess in the palace, loves her blankie, but it’s missing, so the search is on.
Her brother, Jack, used it as a curtain until a giant stole it to use as a hankie, until a witch flew off with it and made a cloak from it, until it was taken by…a cranky-looking dragon who happens to be snoring on it when Alice finds them. Alice is cranky herself but halts a brief blankie tug of war for a better solution: finding the dragon his own bedtime snuggly. It’s not easy. The dragon grows increasingly weepy, but he won’t snuggle with the witch’s “far too scratchy” cat, the giant’s feather pillow (it makes him sneeze), or Jack’s stinky socks. What can Alice do? A thorough search of the palace finally yields the dragon’s perfect snuggly and earns Alice a lifelong friend and protector. Muted mixed-media cartoon illustrations create rich backstories for each character combined with a sophisticated, smoothly reading rhyme scheme to produce a fast-moving friendship story that problem-solving young children will appreciate. Princess Alice, Prince Jack, and the giant present as dark-haired white characters.
A humorous rhyming romp in which the usual fairy-tale villains are friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0819-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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