A solid message to caregivers about the value of unstructured time with their children; child readers may hope for similar...
A frazzled Mama Bear with a long to-do list learns to stop and smell the flowers.
No matter how long Mama’s list is, Bella Bear does not share her agenda. A typical toddler, Bella wants to play (preferably with Mama) and to do things herself: She wants what she wants. There’s no mischief to Bella, but even so, every rushed caregiver will empathize with Mama Bear’s mounting frustration, signaled in Bright’s illustrations by the prominent red wristwatch she points to, her upraised eyebrows, and her up-flung arms. But Bella’s expression when Mama’s temper finally erupts over the traffic lights gives Mama pause. “Mama has a change of heart. / She wants to go a different way. / ‘New plans for us, my Bella Bear… // We’re going to the park today!’ ” And just like that, list forgotten, the two spend the day enjoying each other’s company. And when it’s time to leave, their roles are humorously reversed. Bright’s anthropomorphized bears are pudgy and scribbly-furred, and they have large, round front paws. Bella is a lighter shade of brown than Mama and wears clothing; outside the house, Mama sports only a scarf. A family portrait shows only the duo.
A solid message to caregivers about the value of unstructured time with their children; child readers may hope for similar results with their own grown-ups. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-374-30578-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
It’s a lucky thing indeed that this book is as great a joy to read aloud as it is.
One duck’s luck is another wolf’s disaster in this tale of tragedy averted.
Right from the start, Susan is convinced that she is by far the unluckiest of ducks, since the roller skates she ordered turned out to be two sizes too big. Just at that moment, however, a well-dressed wolf appears at her door, informing her that she’s the winner of a big beautiful soup pot. And so it goes: Each time Susan feels that her luck’s run out, the wolf reappears with some new (and edible) soup-related prize. Long before poor Susan does, kids will realize the price of the wolf’s gifts. Still, when the finale arrives, it turns out that each “unlucky” thing to happen to Susan helps her to survive another day. Sharp-eyed readers may notice a tiny bug responsible for at least two of Susan’s missing items, also aiding in her deliverance from the wolf’s hungry maw. The pure clean lines and limited palette lend a distinctly ’50s vibe to the proceedings, while the text makes for a charming storytime. Meanwhile, the narrative has shades of Keiko Kasza’s My Lucky Day (2003) and Mo Willems’ That Is NOT a Good Idea (2013). Few may be surprised by the resolution, but the familiarity is much of the story’s charm.
It’s a lucky thing indeed that this book is as great a joy to read aloud as it is. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593649770
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
Slight, though silly and amusing.
Barnacle longs for a change in routine.
A lone, pale barnacle hangs over the blue water, affixed by its hatlike shell to the bottom of a wooden pier. Here it seems to the barnacle that every day is just about the same: “The tide comes IN. // I am WET and COLD. / The tide goes OUT. // I am DRY and HOT.” The crustacean watches the world go by, or at least as much of it as is visible from one fixed vantage point. Four appendages wave expressively below an exaggeratedly cartoonish face. Its expression is scowling and grumpy: “I am BORED.” When a yellow, polka-dot fish swims by, Barnacle is struck by a thought: “I bet his days are so FUN.” Perceptive readers may notice that from this point Barnacle is actually not entirely bored, as the many delights available to this brightly colored fish play out—at least in Barnacle’s imagination. Barnacle pictures the sunny, big-eyed fish happily engaged in entertaining, alliterative activities in the pale blue sea: “I bet he DIVES with dolphins. / I bet he SOARS with sailfish.” But a reversal in fortune demonstrates that excitement and boredom are all in how a situation is perceived (and also that, as in most of nature, eating or being eaten is the rule). Fenske’s open, flat-colored, loose-lined, animated cartoon style and simple dialogue-bubble text in a large, bold font are inviting for new readers.
Slight, though silly and amusing. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-86504-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
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