A story warm in both palette and feeling.
A depiction of deliberate acts of kindness.
Stead’s return to familiar themes of friendship and camaraderie is refreshed by the introduction of Samson, a wooly mammoth who loves his patch of dandelions but isn’t miserly with them. When a red bird (reminiscent of the title character in Stead’s Hello, My Name Is Ruby, 2013, in size if not color) requests some to give to a friend having a bad day, he gives them gladly. But as the bird flies away, Samson wistfully wonders what it’d be like to have a friend. He falls asleep and dreams of yellow, and here Stead treats readers to the first of three wordless spreads punctuating the narrative—this one a saturated, bright yellow with starburst prints of dandelion blossoms. Samson awakens to a blizzard, worries about the red bird, and goes off to find her. “It is better to walk than to worry,” he thinks as he trudges through the snow. He finds a mouse and lifts him up onto his furry back to stay warm and snug. The mouse, too, is searching for someone, who turns out to be the small red bird. Their reunion is a joyful one, complete with a gift of dandelions to the mouse, and then Samson brings them to a cave’s dry safety to wait out the storm, together.
A story warm in both palette and feeling. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62672-182-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
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Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for...
Oliver, of first-day-of-school alligator fame, is back, imagining adventures and still struggling to find balance between introversion and extroversion.
“When Oliver found his egg…” on the playground, mint-green backgrounds signifying Oliver’s flight into fancy slowly grow larger until they take up entire spreads; Oliver’s creature, white and dinosaurlike with orange polka dots, grows larger with them. Their adventures include sharing treats, sailing the seas and going into outer space. A classmate’s yell brings him back to reality, where readers see him sitting on top of a rock. Even considering Schmid’s scribbly style, readers can almost see the wheels turning in his head as he ponders the girl and whether or not to give up his solitary play. “But when Oliver found his rock… // Oliver imagined many adventures // with all his friends!” This last is on a double gatefold that opens to show the children enjoying the creature’s slippery curves. A final wordless spread depicts all the children sitting on rocks, expressions gleeful, wondering, waiting, hopeful. The illustrations, done in pastel pencil and digital color, again make masterful use of white space and page turns, although this tale is not nearly as funny or tongue-in-cheek as Oliver and His Alligator (2013), nor is its message as clear and immediately accessible to children.
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for all children but sadly isn’t. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-7573-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
Children who love dogs will find this amusing the first time through, but the humor palls quickly.
In rhyming text, a bug-eyed pug named Pig stubbornly refuses to share with the almost equally bug-eyed Trevor, the “wiener dog” he lives with—and soon gets his comeuppance.
The book begins showing the eponymous dog astride a large, red bowl of dog food, tongue hanging out and all four paws gripping the bowl. It perfectly matches the text: “Pig was a Pug / and I’m sorry to say, / he was greedy and selfish / in most every way.” A bit of humor comes through when the text plays on the adage about pigs by reminding readers that “pugs cannot fly.” However, most of the text is composed of trite, tired rhymes. The ending is a punch line whose funny picture will have little ones giggling. However, the ultimate “lesson” is a rather dark cynicism, more appropriate to children older than the age suggested by the rhymes, the art, and even the publisher. There may be some vicarious thrills for those who have witnessed excessive selfishness. The artwork is humorous, although Pig’s appearance is sometimes more grotesque than funny—particularly when he shouts at Trevor. Both male dogs’ facial expressions and body language add to the humor, and dog lovers will appreciate Pig’s array of colorful toys. Scansion is spotty, which should not happen in verses so dependent on rhythm and rhyme to entertain their young audience.
Children who love dogs will find this amusing the first time through, but the humor palls quickly. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Dec. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-338-11245-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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