by Robert Gernhardt ; illustrated by Philip Waechter ; translated by David Henry Wilson ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2018
For children who leap before they look, an adventure of a dog on a boat in a book
Five lively dogs and a not-so-far-away adventure take center stage in this rhyming picture book.
A dog named Olly and his canine pals make up a rambunctious crew that causes amusing mischief wherever they go. One day, Olly gets it in his head to take an inflated rubber raft out to sea and travel to the United States. The other dogs wisely remain on shore, content to munch the sausages they’ve just nicked from a nearby butcher’s shop. Intrepid Olly won’t be dissuaded, however, and sets off happily—until he finds himself alone in a predicament, portrayed in a wordless, two-page illustration of deep blue-green water, an empty raft, and no land nearby. Olly must summon all his courage and his swimming expertise to get himself out of trouble. This Australian import, originally published in German, features a bit of specialized vocabulary (“crew,” “dinghy”) and potentially unfamiliar colloquialisms (“brilliant,” “might and main”), along with an occasionally stilted rhyming scheme (“saw” and “shore” don’t really rhyme in much American English)—but Olly’s pluck will be familiar to children everywhere. The bright, expressive illustrations are delightful, each spread alternating between classic vignettes and full-page scenes that are immersive and dramatic and often full of interesting details. The pen-and-ink style makes for approachable and easily decoded pictures, befitting the simple story.
For children who leap before they look, an adventure of a dog on a boat in a book (. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-76036-046-7
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Starfish Bay
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
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PERSPECTIVES
by Adam Rex ; illustrated by Claire Keane ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019
A funny David-versus-Goliath story with a one-word question serving as the slingshot. (Picture book. 3-5)
Doctor X-Ray, a megalomaniac with an X-ray blaster and an indestructible battle suit, crashes through the ceiling of the local mall.
Innocent patrons scatter to safety. But one curious child gazes directly at the bully and asks: “Why?” At first, Doctor X-Ray answers with all the menace and swagger of a supervillain. The curious child, armed with only a stuffed bear and clad in a bright red dress, is not satisfied with the answers and continues asking: “Why?” As his pale cheeks flush with emotion, Doctor X-Ray peels back the onion of his interior life, unearthing powerful reasons behind his pursuit of tyranny. This all sounds heavy, but the humorously monotonous questions coupled with free-wheeling illustrations by Keane set a quick pace with comical results. At 60 pages, the book has room to follow this thread back to the diabolical bully’s childhood. Most of the answers go beyond a child’s understanding—parental entertainment between the howl of the monosyllabic chorus. It is the digital artwork, which is reminiscent of Quentin Blake’s, that creates a joyful undercurrent of rebellion with bold and loose brush strokes, patches of color, and expressive faces. The illustrations harken to a previous era save for the thoroughly liberated Asian child speaking truth to power.
A funny David-versus-Goliath story with a one-word question serving as the slingshot. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-6863-0
Page Count: 60
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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BOOK REVIEW
by Stephanie Stansbie ; illustrated by Richard Smythe ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 3, 2019
Sweet.
A caregiving bear shares with its cub how love has defined their relationship from the first moment and through the years as the cub has grown.
With rhymes and a steady rhythm that are less singsong-y than similar books, Stansbie seems to have hit a sweet spot for this offering on the I-love-you-always shelf. Readers follow the adult and child as they share special moments together—a sunset, a splash in a pond, climbing a tree, a snuggle—and the adult tells the child that the love it feels has only grown. Stansbie also takes care not to put promises in the adult bear’s mouth that can’t be delivered, acknowledging that physical proximity is not always possible: “Wherever you are, / even when we’re apart… // I’ll love you forever / with all of my heart.” The large trim size helps the sweet illustrations shine; their emphasis is on the close relationship between parent and child. Shaped peekaboo windows offer glimpses of preceding and succeeding pages, images and text carefully placed to work whatever the context. While the die cuts on the interior pages will not hold up to rough handling, they do add whimsy and delight to the book as a whole: “And now that you’re bigger, / you make my heart sing. / My / beautiful / wonderful / magical / thing.” Those last three adjectives are positioned in leaf-shaped cutouts, the turn of the page revealing the roly-poly cub in a pile of leaves, three formed by the die-cuts. Opposite, three vignettes show the cub appreciating the “beautiful,” the “wonderful,” and the “magical.”
Sweet. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68412-910-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Dolphin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
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by Stephanie Stansbie ; illustrated by Tatiana Kamshilina
BOOK REVIEW
by Stephanie Stansbie ; illustrated by Tatiana Kamshilina
BOOK REVIEW
by Stephanie Stansbie ; illustrated by Elisa Paganelli
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