by Olivier Tallec ; illustrated by Olivier Tallec ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 6, 2018
An eye-opener for anyone who thinks that looking and seeing are the same thing.
Following on Who Done It? (2015) and Who What Where? (2016), more visual tests of powers of observation and memory.
In oblong cartoon scenes, some with die-cut holes, Tallec lines up a cast of children and animals. He then, after a page turn, asks which one had a yellow scarf or what color undies a figure was wearing, who in the new scene wasn’t in the previous one, or another unpredictable question. Even at this elementary level (there are never more than seven figures in view, and usually fewer) grown-ups will have no advantage tackling these challenges, as the author changes the type of thing that must be noted and recalled each time. Thanks to lots of puzzled, pop-eyed expressions in the art and a certain amount of comical folderol—an instruction to tilt the volume to the right sends everyone on the next spread staggering in that direction, some clearly queasy—the game is as playful as it is tricky. Sometimes the details are just as much fun as as the game (if not more so): a lion wearing red rubber boots and a pink dog dangling by its teeth from the outstretched arm of an unperturbed bear will have children giggling. The human children are mostly pale, though one has brown skin and two others, (possibly) inexplicably, have green.
An eye-opener for anyone who thinks that looking and seeing are the same thing. (answer key) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4521-6990-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
Share your opinion of this book
More by Olivier Tallec
BOOK REVIEW
by Olivier Tallec ; illustrated by Olivier Tallec ; translated by Antony Shugaar
BOOK REVIEW
by Jory John ; illustrated by Olivier Tallec
BOOK REVIEW
by Agnès Mathieu-Daudé ; translated by Nanette McGuinness ; illustrated by Olivier Tallec
by Andrea Tsurumi ; illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 11, 2021
Whether in hand or on shelf, this one’s sure to make a splash anywhere and everywhere.
A frog tries to do everything a goat does, too.
Goat asks Frog to look at them before declaring “I’m ON it!” while balancing atop a tree stump near a pond. After an “Oooh!” and a “You know what?” Frog leaps off their lily pad to balance on a rock: “I’m on it, too!” Goat grabs a prop so that they can be both “on it AND beside it.” (It may take young readers a little bit to realize there are two its.) So does Frog. The competition continues as Frog struggles to mimic overconfident Goat’s antics. In addition to on and beside, the pair adds inside, between, under, and more. Eventually, it all gets to be too much for Frog to handle, so Frog falls into the water, resumes position on the lily pad, and declares “I am OVER it” while eating a fly. In an act of solidarity, Goat jumps in, too. In Tsurumi’s first foray into early readers she pares down her energetic, colorful cartoon style to the bare essentials without losing any of the madcap fun. Using fewer than 80 repeated words (over 12 of which are prepositions), the clever text instructs, delights, and revels in its own playfulness. Color-coded speech bubbles (orange for Goat, green for Frog) help match the dialogue with each speaker. Like others in the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading series, Elephant and Piggie metafictively bookend the main narrative with hilariously on-the-nose commentary.
Whether in hand or on shelf, this one’s sure to make a splash anywhere and everywhere. (Early reader. 4-8)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-368-06696-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Jarrett Pumphrey & Jerome Pumphrey with Mo Willems ; illustrated by Jarrett Pumphrey & Jerome Pumphrey
by Ryan T. Higgins ; illustrated by Ryan T. Higgins
More by Kyle Lukoff
BOOK REVIEW
by Kyle Lukoff ; illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi
BOOK REVIEW
by Chris Harris ; illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi
BOOK REVIEW
by Jarrett Dapier ; illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi
by Marie Boyd ; illustrated by Marie Boyd ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2023
Unusual illustrations enhance an engaging, informative narrative.
What can a worm do?
A little worm sets off on a “twirl” to “see the world.” But when it overhears a human referring to it as “just a worm,” its feelings are hurt. The worm asks other critters—including a caterpillar, a spider, a dragonfly—what they can do. After each answer (turn into a butterfly, spin silk thread, fly), the worm becomes more and more dejected because it can’t do any of these things. “Maybe I am just a worm.” But then the worm encounters a ladybug, who eats aphids and other insects, and the worm realizes that it eats dead plants and animals and keeps gardens clean. And though the worm can’t pollinate like the bee, it does create castings (poop) that help plants grow and stay healthy. These abilities, the worm realizes in triumph, are important! The cleverness of this story lies in its lighthearted, effective dissemination of information about various insects as well as earthworms. It doesn’t hurt that the expressive little worm is downright adorable, with emotions that will resonate with anyone who has felt unimportant. The stunning illustrations are done in quilled paper—a centuries-old technique that involves assembling strips of colored paper into shapes—which adds sparkle and originality. A tutorial of how to make a quilled butterfly and a page on earthworm facts round out the book. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Unusual illustrations enhance an engaging, informative narrative. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-321256-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
Share your opinion of this book
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.