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: June 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
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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 19, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
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What to do when you’re a prickly animal hankering for a hug? Why, find another misfit animal also searching for an embrace!
Sweet but “tricky to hug” little Hedgehog is down in the dumps. Wandering the forest, Hedgehog begs different animals for hugs, but each rejects them. Readers will giggle at their panicked excuses—an evasive squirrel must suddenly count its three measly acorns; a magpie begins a drawn-out song—but will also be indignant on poor hedgehog’s behalf. Hedgehog has the appealingly pink-cheeked softness typical of Dunbar’s art, and the gentle watercolors are nonthreatening, though she also captures the animals’ genuine concern about being poked. A wise owl counsels the dejected hedgehog that while the prickles may frighten some, “there’s someone for everyone.” That’s when Hedgehog spots a similarly lonely tortoise, rejected due to its “very hard” shell but perfectly matched for a spiky new friend. They race toward each other until the glorious meeting, marked with swoony peach swirls and overjoyed grins. At this point, readers flip the book to hear the same gloomy tale from the tortoise’s perspective until it again culminates in that joyous hug, a book turn that’s made a pleasure with thick creamy paper and solid binding.
Watching unlikely friends finally be as “happy as two someones can be” feels like being enveloped in your very own hug. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-571-34875-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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