A humorous and effective early reader that meets the standard set by this successful series.
In Meisel’s latest dog-themed early reader (See Me Dig, 2013, etc.), a pack of determined dogs chases after a yellow tennis ball by using a hot air balloon, a speedboat, and a pink convertible.
The simple, predictable text uses just four or five words per double-page spread, with elementary sentence structures that are accessible to new readers. The story begins with an olive-skinned human (shown only from the shoulders down) ready to throw the ball for the waiting dogs. Several sentences are repeated with the change of just one word as the ball is taken in turn by a bird, a whale, and a lion. The amusing canines can conjure up whatever help they need in their joint effort, taking off in a hot air balloon to chase after the bird, zooming across open water in pursuit of the whale, and speeding after the lion in their sporty pink convertible. The smiling lion suddenly stops and swallows the ball, ending the chase. The concluding page finds the playful pups whisked back home where they started, with the human character now ready to throw a stick. The illustrations provide plenty of motion, appealing animal characters, and funny details such as the tennis ball clenched in the whale’s jaws.
A humorous and effective early reader that meets the standard set by this successful series. (Early reader. 4-7)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3832-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: March 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
Young readers will be “antsy” to join the hero on her satisfying escapade.
An ant explores her world.
Addie Ant’s ready for adventure. Despite some trepidation about leaving the Tomato Bed, where she lives with her aunt, she plucks up her courage and ventures forth across the garden to the far side of the shed. On her journey, she meets her pal Lewis Ladybug, who greets her warmly, points the way, and offers sage advice. When Addie arrives at her destination, she’s welcomed by lovely Beatrix Butterfly and enjoys an “ant-tastic” helping of watermelon. Beatrix also provides Addie with take-home treats and a map for the “Cricket Express,” which will take her straight home. Arriving at the terminal, Addie’s delighted to meet another friend, Cleo Cricket, whose carriage service returns Addie home in “two hops.” After eating a warm tomato soup dinner, Addie falls asleep and dreams of future exploits. Adorable though not terribly original, this story brims with sensuous pleasures, both textual and visual. Kids who declare that they dislike fruits or veggies may find their mouths watering at the mentions and sights of luscious tomatoes, peas, beans, watermelons, berries, and other foodstuffs; insect-averse readers may likewise think differently after encountering these convivial, wide-eyed characters. And those flowers and herbs everywhere! The highlights are the colors that burst from the pages. Addie’s an endearing, empowering character who reassures children they’ll be able to take those first independent steps successfully.
Young readers will be “antsy” to join the hero on her satisfying escapade. (author’s note about ants) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781797228914
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
Hee haw.
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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