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THE NEST THAT WREN BUILT

Name: THE NEST THAT WREN BUILT
Author: Randi Sonenshine
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0153-6

by Randi Sonenshine ; illustrated by Anne Hunter ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2020

All in all, a delightfully readable and informative wrendition.

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A familiar cumulative rhyme pattern here describes the activities of a pair of wrens from nest construction through incubation and hatching of eggs to the fledging of their offspring.

Nesting birds are a popular picture-book subject, but this appreciative account stands out both for its descriptive language and its evocative illustrations. Those reading aloud will appreciate the regular rhythm, intriguing vocabulary, and deft turns of phrase. Not only does Sonenshine smoothly introduce specific words for the growing chicks (“hatchlings,” “nestlings,” “fledglings,” all clear in context and additionally defined in a glossary at the end), she also uses engaging adjectives: “reptilian charm,” “persnickety burr,” “mirthful song.” There is interesting and appropriate imagery as well: “twigs…cradle the nest,” which will be lined with “moss, softer than suede.” Hunter uses ink and colored pencils on various shades of colored paper to illustrate the process. From vignettes to double-page spreads, these scenes focus on the wrens but also include other animals for observant readers to find; a final spread shows a mouse climbing into the now-empty nest. Following the pattern of the nursery rhyme, the author uses Wren as a proper noun in the repeated phrase “the nest that Wren built,” but in a final page of appended facts she makes clear that both the male and the female are involved in the various steps of the nest-building process.

All in all, a delightfully readable and informative wrendition. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 10, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-5362-0153-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE DEN THAT OCTOPUS BUILT
by Randi Sonenshine ; illustrated by Anne Hunter

- BOOK REVIEW
THE INSIDE NAME
by Randi Sonenshine ; illustrated by Gina Capaldi

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LODGE THAT BEAVER BUILT
by Randi Sonenshine ; illustrated by Anne Hunter

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KENYA'S ART

by Linda Trice ; illustrated by Hazel Mitchell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 5, 2016

The emphasis on art as something that’s not useful and on holding on to items by branding them as art makes this one to miss.

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A broken-toy purge turns into an art-making session in this didactic look at recycling and reuse.

Kenya’s story begins when her mother orders her to get rid of all her broken toys, including the one she is currently playing with, a prize from her art teacher. In a narrative shift, Kenya asks her dad for homework help—she has to tell her class what she did for spring vacation: nothing. A walk to the park only reinforces how much better her classmates’ vacations have been. But a museum tour provides the spark: a quilt made with reused scraps and a sculpture: “This artist recycled used bottles and made something to look at. It’s not useful, it’s art,” says the docent. Kenya labels it a “thingamabob.” The whole family gets in on the act at home, making new things from old and creating art. Kenya makes her own thingamabob that is sure to have parents of packrats cringing: it’s a huge heap of broken toys anchored in a clay base. Mitchell’s detailed watercolor, graphite, and digital illustrations show a loving black family whose expressions are rather static. Kenya’s friends and classmates tick off the other racial and ethnic boxes for a nicely rainbow classroom: white twins, a black trumpet player, an Asian soccer player, a Latina teacher.

The emphasis on art as something that’s not useful and on holding on to items by branding them as art makes this one to miss. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-57091-848-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Charlesbridge

Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
KENYA'S SONG
by Linda Trice & illustrated by Pamela Johnson

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PAOLO, EMPEROR OF ROME

by Mac Barnett ; illustrated by Claire Keane ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2020

Molto bene! (Picture book. 4-8)

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A canine escapee gets his own Roman holiday.

Paolo, a dachshund, would rather explore the streets of Rome than lie around inside his hair-salon home. Every time he dares to make an escape out the door, his owner, Signora Pianostrada, blocks her “Lazy Paolo” with her foot. But one day, Signora Pianostrada starts putting curlers in a client’s hair before remembering to close the door, and off Paolo goes. The pup’s newfound freedom takes him all over Rome—for, as he says, unlike the statues he sees, “I am made of muscles, and can go wherever I please.” He stares down cats in a field full of ruins. He becomes leader of a pack of dogs. He even tries his hand at heroics. Above all else, he conquers the city, proving that he’s more imperial than lazy. Barnett’s theatrical narrator works in tandem with the hilariously pompous pooch to carry this rib-tickling romp with infectious bravado. Keane’s illustrations feature thick black outlines and an earthy, Mediterranean color palette applied with the look of oil pastels. The beautifully textured architecture and action sequences harken back to classic picture-book artists like Ludwig Bemelmans, Dr. Seuss, and H.A. Rey. A pair of wordless spreads even gives the pup a wild rumpus. Though it’s mostly an animal story, the human characters are racially diverse. Endpapers depict a small map of Rome with Italian labels.

Molto bene! (Picture book. 4-8)