In a niche that includes elegant, realistic and natural offerings, this is cute.
Kapchinske’s picture-book debut is a fact-toting trip through several food chains.
After a snack of a little green beetle, a snake slithers along: “He sang, ‘Hey diddle diddle—I’m feelin’ fine. / Call me cold-blooded, but I’ve got a spine.’ / A hawk looked down a tweetin’ a tune / and said, ‘I’d like some breakfast soon.’ ” The second food chain consists of a frog and a bass, while the last begins with a caterpillar that is eaten by a lizard and ends with a bobcat. The forced incorporation of so many facts comes off as didactic at times, although they will serve to teach readers about the various species. While the verses sometimes falter in their rhythms, which are based loosely on the titular nursery rhyme, the beat is nonetheless rollicking and will likely have readers and listeners alike tapping their toes. Extensive backmatter includes more information and questions that will deepen children’s understanding of food chains and animal classification and adaptations. Rogers’ digitally illustrated animals are slightly cartoonish with too-bright colors and anthropomorphized expressions and body language. Most offputting, this injects human emotions into what is a natural cycle in the animal world.
In a niche that includes elegant, realistic and natural offerings, this is cute. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-60718-130-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sylvan Dell
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
There’s nothing especially new here, but the good-natured celebration of books, reading, and libraries will charm fellow...
A porcine hoarder of books learns to read—and to share.
The Book Hog’s obsession is clear from the start. Short declarative sentences describe his enthusiasm (“The Book Hog loved books”), catalog the things he likes about the printed page, and eventually reveal his embarrassing secret (“He didn’t know how to read”). While the text is straightforward, plenty of amusing visual details will entertain young listeners. A picture of the Book Hog thumbing through a book while seated on the toilet should induce some giggles. The allusive name of a local bookshop (“Wilbur’s”) as well as the covers of a variety of familiar and much-loved books (including some of the author’s own) offer plenty to pore over. And the fact that the titles become legible only after our hero learns to read is a particularly nice touch. A combination of vignettes, single-page illustrations and double-page spreads that feature Pizzoli’s characteristic style—heavy black outlines, a limited palette of mostly salmon and mint green, and simple shapes—move the plot along briskly. Librarians will appreciate the positive portrayal of Miss Olive, an elephant who welcomes the Book Hog warmly to storytime, though it’s unlikely most will be able to match her superlative level of service.
There’s nothing especially new here, but the good-natured celebration of books, reading, and libraries will charm fellow bibliophiles, and the author’s fans will enjoy making another anthropomorphic animal friend. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-03689-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
A solid, small step for diversifying STEM stories.
What does Annie want to be?
As career day approaches, Annie wants to keep her job choice secret until her family sees her presentation at school. Readers will figure it out, however, through the title and clues Tadgell incorporates into the illustrations. Family members make guesses about her ambitions that are tied to their own passions, although her brother watches as she completes her costume in a bedroom with a Mae Jemison poster, starry décor, and a telescope. There’s a celebratory mood at the culminating presentation, where Annie says she wants to “soar high through the air” like her basketball-playing mother, “explore faraway places” like her hiker dad, and “be brave and bold” like her baker grandmother (this feels forced, but oven mitts are part of her astronaut costume) so “the whole world will hear my exciting stories” like her reporter grandfather. Annie jumps off a chair to “BLAST OFF” in a small illustration superimposed on a larger picture depicting her floating in space with a reddish ground below. It’s unclear if Annie imagines this scene or if it’s her future-self exploring Mars, but either scenario fits the aspirational story. Backmatter provides further reading suggestions and information about the moon and four women astronauts, one of whom is Jemison. Annie and her family are all black.
A solid, small step for diversifying STEM stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-88448-523-0
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
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