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WHILE THE WORLD IS SLEEPING

A giant snowy owl pays a visit to a young child, introducing him/her to some nocturnal animals. The child clings to the owl’s back while they visit river, meadow, farmyard, stream and woods. “In the woods, a porcupine, / Rattles quills to send a sign, / Don’t come near, this food is mine! / While the world is sleeping.” With the exception of two, the rhymes work well and, with its repetitive phrasing, this would make for a good read-aloud in group settings. While most of the creatures are in fact nocturnal, Edwards includes deer and rabbits, which are crepuscular. The ending leaves open for readers the opportunity to have an adventure of their own—a stuffed owl on the bed suggests the power of imagination. Kirk’s sharp-edged gouache artwork stops short of pure realism, rounding the animals a bit to suit a younger audience (though the fox’s pop eyes look downright sinister). At the same time, children are given an extreme close-up view of most. Muted colors enhance the nocturnal theme. An imaginative look at nighttime nature. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-0-545-01756-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2009

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DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE SLEIGH!

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

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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

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THE WONKY DONKEY

Hee haw.

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The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.

In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.

Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: May 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1

Page Count: 26

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018

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