Mostly funny and fun to read but slightly off-kilter.
A timid mouse decides that he must risk confronting a lion in order to make himself heard.
After setting the scene on the African veldt, rhyming verse informs readers that under a “mighty flat rock” there lives, in a “tinyful house,” the “littlest, quietest, / meekest brown mouse.” Next, readers learn that the mouse’s life is lonely and even dangerous because no one notices him. (He is depicted being stepped on and sat upon, ballooning, Pepto-pink speech bubbles expressing his pain.) His miserable life is contrasted to that of the lion on top of the rock, who resembles a benign version of Scar in Disney’s The Lion King—indeed, the illustrations borrow much from 20th-century animation aesthetics. There ensue funny pictures of the lion flexing his muscles and preening. Boastful, strong, and arrogant, he uses his roar to cement his leadership. The mouse decides that if he learns to roar, he too will “make friends and join in.” His large, yellow eyes glow with fear as he looks up from his book, How to Roar, and realizes that only a visit to the lion will enable him to learn that skill. He fears being the lion’s dinner, “but if you want things to change, / you first have to change you.” This odd mix of realistic fears and glib platitudes continues as two expected outcomes (neither one dire) occur, the greatest platitude of all contained in the final, unprovable lines: “no matter your size, / We all have a mouse / AND a lion inside.”
Mostly funny and fun to read but slightly off-kilter. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 31, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-87350-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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