A gentle alternative to Bernard Waber’s “You Look Ridiculous,” Said the Rhinoceros to the Hippopotamus (1966) and other...
In this Arctic tale, a wolf discontented with his own nature tries on other animals’ features, with dismal results.
Rather than run and play like other wolves, the subject of this apparently original story prefers to spy on caribou, wolverines, and snowy owls. He so envies them that he even collects shed antlers, wisps of long fur, and a dropped feather. So heartfelt is the song he sings of his yearning that with the “Land’s Strength” he is actually able to attach all of these to his body. But then he returns to his pack and discovers that he fits in even worse than before. In fact, his new patchwork features impede his ability to hunt and eat. Away he wanders, wasting away until the “mother of the wolves” comes to him. She coaxes him to return and to live as a wolf. With his pack’s love he is able to undo the changes, healing in both body and spirit. Echoing the narrative’s formal cadences, all of the creatures in Cook’s muted, windswept tundra scenes pose gracefully. The sinuous white wolf cuts a particularly noble figure and so looks all the stranger when decked out in his borrowed finery. But he is never seen as ridiculous, only misguided, and all ends well: “He was a wolf—and that in itself was admirable.”
A gentle alternative to Bernard Waber’s “You Look Ridiculous,” Said the Rhinoceros to the Hippopotamus (1966) and other self-acceptance tales. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-7722-7005-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
An effective early chapter book conveyed in a slightly overdone gag.
Epistolary dispatches from the eternal canine/feline feud.
Simon the cat is angry. He had done a good job taking care of his boy, Andy, but now that Andy’s parents are divorced, a dog named Baxter has moved into Andy’s dad’s house. Simon believes that there isn’t enough room in Andy’s life for two furry friends, so he uses the power of the pen to get Baxter to move out. Inventively for the early-chapter-book format, the story is told in letters written back and forth; Simon’s are impeccably spelled on personalized stationery while Baxter’s spelling slowly improves through the letters he scrawls on scraps of paper. A few other animals make appearances—a puffy-lipped goldfish who for some reason punctuates her letter with “Blub…blub…” seems to be the only female character (cued through stereotypical use of eyelashes and red lipstick), and a mustachioed snail ferries the mail to and fro. White-appearing Andy is seen playing with both animals as a visual background to the text, as is his friend Noah (a dark-skinned child who perhaps should not be nicknamed “N Man”). Cat lovers will appreciate Simon’s prickliness while dog aficionados will likely enjoy Baxter’s obtuse enthusiasm, and all readers will learn about the time and patience it takes to overcome conflict and jealousy with someone you dislike.
An effective early chapter book conveyed in a slightly overdone gag. (Fiction. 6-8)Pub Date: May 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4492-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A spellbinding tale that will never brown or fade with time.
Soup is always the correct solution.
Evergreen, a young squirrel who lives high in a tree in Buckthorn Forest, is afraid of most things, but top of the list is thunderstorms. When her mother, who makes magical soup, asks her to take an acorn full of soup to Granny Oak, who is ill with the flu, Evergreen is afraid that she won’t be brave enough to do it. But she knows she must—and that she must be careful not to spill a drop, as “Granny Oak will need every bit of it to get better.” Setting off, the scared squirrel encounters a menagerie of adventures and forest creatures in her journey. It’s a wild, imaginative read and one that twists and turns like a forest path, with unexpected surprises along the way. Cordell is a masterful storyteller, and readers will love following Evergreen’s journey as she grows into a more confident squirrel. The artwork is the real star of the show, however; there’s a hint of Sendak in the characters’ humorous expressions and in the timeless pen-and-watercolor backgrounds that cry out to be examined in detail. Educators and caregivers will love reading this story aloud in installments, and readers will adore seeing what Evergreen encounters in her travels. A hint of future stories will tantalize readers, who will close the book eager for a new volume to devour.
A spellbinding tale that will never brown or fade with time. (Early chapter book. 6-8)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-31717-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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