As a follow-up to Schories’s previous wordless book Jack and the Night Visitors (2006), a boy takes his dog, Jack, outside and hooks him up to his leash by his doghouse. When the boy goes back inside, a spaceship full of little robot “night visitors” lands next to Jack. The robots tumble out and encourage Jack to play with them. They unhook his leash, and page by page readers follows their antics. They roughhouse in the sand box, splash in the pond and make general mischief. In a surprising moment at the end, the robots hook Jack’s leash to their spaceship and try to take him with them. Luckily his leash slips off his neck, and the spaceship disappears. Jack’s owner comes back out, puzzled, to see Jack barking at the sky without his leash on. The cheerful illustrations clearly narrate the story, and Jack couldn’t be cuter. The possibility of abduction by leash, however, rings an odd note. Still fun, quirky and easy to follow for pre-readers. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59078-652-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Dec. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2010
Animated and educational.
A hare and a ground squirrel banter about the differences between related animals that are often confused for one another.
Jack is “no Flopsy, Mopsy, or Cottontail,” but a “H-A-R-E, hare!” Like sheep and goats, or turtles and tortoises, rabbits and hares may look similar, but hares are bigger, their fur changes color in the winter, and they are born with their eyes wide open. As the ground squirrel (not to be mistaken for a chipmunk (even though Jack cheekily calls it “Chippie”) and Jack engage in playful discussion about animals, a sneaky coyote prowls after them through the Sonoran Desert. This picture book conveys the full narrative in spirited, speech-bubbled dialogue set on expressive illustrations of talking animals. Dark outlines around the characters make their shapes pop against the softly blended colors of the desert backgrounds. Snappy back-and-forth paired with repetition and occasional rhyme enhances the story’s appeal as a read-aloud. As the story progresses, the colors of the sky shift from dawn to dusk, providing subtle, visual bookends for the narrative. One page of backmatter offers a quick guide to eight easily confused pairs, and a second turns a subsequent exploration of the book into a seek-and-find of 15 creatures (and one dessert) hidden in the desert. Unfortunately, while most of the creatures from the seek-and-find appear in poses that match the illustrations in the challenge, not all of them are consistently represented. (This book was reviewed digitally with 7-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 53.3% of actual size.)
Animated and educational. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-12506-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet and silly pair of tales about an eccentric gosling and her newfound friend. In Gossie, Dunrea (Bear Noel, 2000, etc.) describes the fashionable fowl’s favorite pastime: strutting about in her snazzy red rainboots. Yet, when her boots mysteriously disappear one day, Gossie sets out to locate them—only to discover a kindred spirit in fellow gosling Gertie. Despite her adoration of her footwear, Gossie amends her perception of high fashion, determining that it’s more fun to share accessories with a friend than to be perfectly attired but all alone. Gossie & Gertie chronicles the loving relationship of the best pals. Clad in bright red and blue boots, respectively, Gossie and Gertie gallivant about in tandem: wherever Gossie wanders, Gertie is sure to follow. However, when Gertie ventures out on her own, Gossie learns the benefits of letting her friend occasionally take the lead. Dunrea’s tales are simply wrought and rendered, with the ink and watercolor illustrations capturing the quaint, whimsical charm of the stories. Situated against stark white backgrounds, the bright-hued vignettes communicate an abundance of expression in a few deft strokes. The potent combination of toddler-appealing story lines and the charismatic charm of the illustrations assure that these smartly clad geese will be marching straight into the hearts of readers. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2002
ISBN: 0-618-17674-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2002
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