by Rhoda Canter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 9, 2012
A charming talking-animal tale, with gentle messages about family and the environment.
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Two Chihuahuas engage the animals of Bald Head Island, N.C., in a plan to stop illegal turtle-egg traffickers in this playful debut children’s adventure book aimed at dog lovers and budding environmental advocates.
Pampered, curious pups Bennett and Lola join their owner Cora as she retreats to a beach house to write a book about the animals and plants on Bald Head Island. Soon a charismatic mockingbird Moc urges the dogs to see the wonders of the neighborhood: a mean dog named Jug (short for Jugular), intriguing but dangerous alligators, and a big loggerhead turtle mama who lays her eggs on the beach. When the eggs are stolen, the pups take on alternate identities—Chief Inspector Brown and Sergeant Starfoot—and collect a team of animals to follow the egg poachers and alert the local Bald Head Island Conservancy people. Later, the pups must find their way back to Cora after being washed into the ocean and stranded on a beach far from home. The story has no human children as characters—a bit odd for a book targeted to kids—but Bennett’s protective big-sibling relationship with the excitable, recklessly brave Lola shows how sibling rivalry can be superseded by love when it matters most. The story, set in a real location and supported by accurate Conservancy information, can act as an environmental teaching resource, but it also delivers a typical kids’ mystery. The book’s strategically placed advanced vocabulary, understandable in context, makes it a great choice for beginning readers. Its adorable but not cutesy tone and the wittily distinctive voices of its animal characters make it a good candidate for dog-loving parents and children to read together. Energetic illustrations support the story well, though they are forced into quarter-pages, and might have been better served by full-page display.
A charming talking-animal tale, with gentle messages about family and the environment.Pub Date: Dec. 9, 2012
ISBN: 978-1477406175
Page Count: 128
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2017
Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit.
Readers try to dislodge a monster from the pages of this emotive and interactive read-aloud.
“OH NO!” the story starts. “There’s a monster in your book!” The blue, round-headed monster with pink horns and a pink-tipped tail can be seen cheerfully munching on the opening page. “Let’s try to get him out,” declares the narrator. Readers are encouraged to shake, tilt, and spin the book around, while the monster careens around an empty background looking scared and lost. Viewers are exhorted to tickle the monster’s feet, blow on the page, and make a really loud noise. Finally, shockingly, it works: “Now he’s in your room!” But clearly a monster in your book is safer than a monster in your room, so he’s coaxed back into the illustrations and lulled to sleep, curled up under one page and cuddling a bit of another like a child with their blankie. The monster’s entirely cute appearance and clear emotional reactions to his treatment add to the interactive aspect, and some young readers might even resist the instructions to avoid hurting their new pal. Children will be brought along on the monster’s journey, going from excited, noisy, and wiggly to calm and steady (one can hope).
Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit. (Picture book. 2-7)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6456-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
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by Carson Ellis ; illustrated by Carson Ellis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 2015
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
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