All tried-and-true territory here but not a comprehensive, satisfying experience.
“A boy had a bear. A fuzzy brown bear. / It went with him here and went with him there.”
This book starts simply with a cartoon-style boy and his teddy bear in a Seussian terrain, full of knolls, knobs, and curls. They tranquilly journey through day and night, “[a]ways a pair.” The story becomes a rhyming cumulative tale when the boy picks up a “goat in a polka-dot coat.” The trio continues on their journey, gathering the increasingly odd, seemingly toy creatures that dot the landscape, from a “huggable, lovable slug” to a “sing-along thing.” The pile of creatures in the boy’s arms becomes so high that with “a teeter” and “a totter” they all tumble down to the ground. But where is the bear? Readers know, but the distraught boy discovers that bear is on his head only when he cries out and the bear slides down. After their joyful reunion, the boy discovers where all the toys have come from. He assists in their return, and the boy and bear are alone again, “simply a pair.” The book ends with two pages of “Feelings,” challenging children to match “Sad” or “Happy,” for example, with a corresponding drawing of a facial expression exhibited by the protagonist, who is white. This seems a bit of overreach, since the boy’s expressions throughout the tale are overwhelmingly mild, and the illustration for Happy is the only one that has not appeared previously.
All tried-and-true territory here but not a comprehensive, satisfying experience. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4095-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
Perfect for every underdog who wants to have a say.
A dog-loving child encourages a less-than-enthusiastic younger one to imagine they’re both canines.
From the first declaration—“I’d be a big dog! And you’d be a little one!”—readers know who’s calling the shots. Initially, the protagonists cavort off the page and through the neighborhood together, performing doggy capers such as tail wagging, stick carrying, and dirt digging. But by the time they encounter a multitude of like-minded creatures at the dog park, the disgruntled small pup is exhibiting out-and-out rebellion: “Being a dog is YOUR idea! Sometimes I HAVE IDEAS TOO!” The narrative wraps up with the younger child pretending to be a different animal entirely—cleverly foreshadowed through subtle details in the illustrations. Even the endpapers—lively silhouettes of dogs in the beginning and many different animals in closing—extend the theme to suggest the imaginative possibilities of pretend play. Cheerful, lightly hued colors fit the whimsical mood, while expressive body language allows the art to tell the story with a minimum of words. Ending on a surprising note, with a sweet compromise between the two main characters, the tale gives both kids the freedom to embrace their own preferences and styles—while still enjoying their game.
Perfect for every underdog who wants to have a say. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9780316581721
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
A worthy message wrapped up in a playful romp.
A romp about saying “I don’t know.”
An apartment building full of cartoonlike creatures shown interacting through their windows (a clever illustrative decision) evokes the lively life of urban living. When one neighbor asks another (via the window) to wake them up in “20 coconuts,” the neighbor agrees but then admits to himself that he doesn’t know what that means—something that bothers him because he is known for being a know-it-all; in fact, he comes from a family of know-it-alls. Ah, pressure! The know-it-all gets himself into a tizzy, cleans his ears and finds a sock and a chicken, consults “Phoney” (his cellphone), and even gets his brain washed by Wally’s Wash Works. If this all sounds extremely silly and somewhat chaotic, it is—which means kids will probably love it. Eventually, he wakes up his neighbor with his yelling (right on time, apparently) but admits to her he doesn’t know what 20 coconuts means. She offers to explain, but then he says he has to be somewhere in “11 bananas,” throwing her into confusion. The energetic (some may say frenzied) tone is amplified by illustrations that have lots going on, with various characters talking in dialogue bubbles to each other, but the message itself comes across as a little light until an explanatory note from the “brains” spells it out—it’s OK to say you don’t know. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A worthy message wrapped up in a playful romp. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-31196-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
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