Young readers will fall for these endearing friends.
Two sweetly innocent friends discover rain.
As Hedgehog and Rabbit enjoy their garden together, a drop of water lands on Rabbit’s ear. Scared by this, he hides in his hollow log. A drop of water also lands on Hedgehog; in his case it tickles and makes him laugh, so he goes looking for Rabbit to tell him. In both cases they believe someone threw the water at them, and now they are out to find the culprit. As they emerge from the hollow log, Rabbit notices something strange: The sky is no longer blue—“it’s…it’s lost its color!” Confused, they wonder whether “whoever threw water at us also took the color out of the sky?” There is definitely a mystery to be solved here. Humor abounds both in the text and in the bright, cartoon illustrations, especially as the friends eventually arrive at the owls’ home. The owls suggest rain might have thrown the water, and “You can’t do anything except take cover and wait for it to get tired and stop.” Still not fully understanding what rain is, the friends take cover and wait, eventually falling asleep. When they wake up “They’d done it! The sun was back in the middle of the bright blue sky.” Translated by Dawlatly from the Spanish Erizo y Conejo descubren la lluvia, this rendering captures the charming silliness of the original story.
Young readers will fall for these endearing friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 30, 2019
ISBN: 978-84-946551-9-7
Page Count: 36
Publisher: NubeOcho
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Roller-coaster enthusiasts or not, children will eagerly join our intrepid hero on this entertaining ride.
The Pigeon is on an emotional—and physical—roller coaster.
Since learning about the existence of roller coasters, he’s become giddy with excitement. The Pigeon prepares mentally: He’ll need a ticket and “exemplary patience” to wait in line. He envisions zooming up and down and careening through dizzying turns and loops. Then, he imagines his emotions afterward: exhilaration, post-ride blues, pride at having accomplished such a feat, and enthusiasm at the prospect of riding again. (He’ll also feel dizzy and nauseous.) All this before the Pigeon ever sets claw on an actual coaster. So…will he really try it? Are roller coasters fun? When the moment comes, everything seems to go according to plan: waiting in line, settling into the little car, THEN—off he goes! Though the ride itself isn’t quite what the Pigeon expected, it will delight readers. Wearing his feelings on his wing and speaking directly to the audience in first person, the Pigeon describes realistic thoughts and emotions about waiting and guessing about the unknown—common childhood experiences. No sentiment is misplaced; kids will relate to Pigeon’s eagerness and apprehension. The ending falls somewhat flat, but the whole humorous point is that an underwhelming adventure can still be thrilling enough to warrant repeating. Willems’ trademark droll illustrations will have readers giggling. The roller-coaster attendant is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Roller-coaster enthusiasts or not, children will eagerly join our intrepid hero on this entertaining ride. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4549-4686-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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