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FLY WITH THE BIRDS

Name: FLY WITH THE BIRDS
Author: Richard Edwards
ISBN: 0-531-09491-X

by Richard Edwards & illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1996

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A day in the life of an imaginative girl, told in singsong. Readers rise with her, get snarled in a traffic jam, go on a picnic, hoe a row, patrol the house, and slip off to bed. Each episode features a foldout page—full of labeled objects—that gives a fantastical twist to the last line of the verse on that spread: ``Stuck in the traffic/we creep and we crawl,/Buses and cars hardly moving at all,/So closing my eyes,/I say/two magic words/Hey, presto! A bus that can fly with the birds!''). The rhyme is buoyant and lilting and readers are sure to admire a girl who'd rather go spelunking with moles than weed another inch of the garden, or who orders thunder, snow, and rain with her picnic instead of just soaking up the sun. Edwards (The Forest Child, 1995, etc.) makes his book almost insistently edifying, particularly when the items in each scene are laid out and identified; it fractures the whimsical wordplay. Kitamura's bee-busy, lighthearted illustrations prevent the exercise from becoming too professorial; his trademark clutter will keep children poring over the pages. (Picture book. 2-6)

Pub Date: March 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-531-09491-X

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Orchard

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE MONKEY’S ONE SAFE PLACE
by Richard Edwards & illustrated by Susan Winter

- BOOK REVIEW
GOOD NIGHT, COPYCUB
by Richard Edwards & illustrated by Susan Winter

- BOOK REVIEW
ALWAYS COPYCUB
by Richard Edwards & illustrated by Susan Winter

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S HALLOWEEN

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 5, 2016

Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.

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A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.

Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.

Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)

Pub Date: July 5, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3

Page Count: 16

Publisher: HMH Books

Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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ANIMAL SHAPES

by Christopher Silas Neal ; illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 27, 2018

Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.

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You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!

What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?

Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)