Count on it—youngsters will laugh all the way through.
Hijinks ensue when Zebra and Yak try to count down from 20 in this elevated concept book.
An unseen narrator asks the titular duo—last seen in Zebra and Yak: The Backwards Alphabet Book (2025)—if they are ready to count. Zebra and Yak are confused when the narrator begins with 20. After the narrator explains that this book is about counting down, not up, they start again, using the familiar refrain of 20 bottles of milk on the wall. But chaos again sets in as Zebra and Yak argue about how to share the milk. By 17, their fighting has attracted a herd of cows. Their escape from the stampede grows increasingly zany, involving a Ferris wheel, an aerial getaway, UFOs, a long plunge on a spread rotated 90 degrees, a series of trampolines, and a stop at a unicorn’s burrito truck. The countdown continues with each step until the pair unwittingly board one rocket ship. The countdown restarts, running from 20 to one, all on a single page, leading inevitably to blast-off. As the two float through outer space, Zebra wonders if they can get more milk. The simply drawn yet expressive cartoon duo, set against solid backgrounds with dynamic fonts, will appeal to fans of Elephant and Piggie or Narwhal and Jelly. The charming protagonists’ personalities, quips, and antics take the story beyond a concept book into a laugh-aloud, character-driven romp with ample rereading potential.
Count on it—youngsters will laugh all the way through. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: June 16, 2026
ISBN: 9798217002139
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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