This book within a book tells the story of a little hedgehog who resists reading a bedtime story about a little bear—or is it also a story about a little bear who reads a book about a little hedgehog?
The front-cover art shows the hedgehog snuggling with her mother while they read a book that looks like the one readers hold in their hands. The back-cover art shows a pair of bears reading the same book. Within the covers, the story opens with the hedgehog child, Sami, resisting a bedtime story about a bear. Mama is patient but prompts her to choose a book to read later. Sami acquiesces and then asks Mama to read the beginning. The accompanying picture’s perspective allows readers to look over her shoulder to read a verse in the book within the book about a little bear getting ready for bed. At first Sami says, “Don’t turn the page,” but her curiosity gets the better of her. Ensuing pages depict continued reading punctuated by Sami’s own preparations for bedtime as she mimics the little bear putting on pajamas, brushing teeth and reading. The final page delivers a conclusion in which the art shows the bears, not within the hedgehog’s book, but living beside the hedgehogs’ home.
A charming, metafictive good night. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-939547-06-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Creston
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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