“Veterinary misadventure” doesn’t normally pair with “rollicking read-aloud,” but here it does.
When Mr. Betts brings all his pets to the vet for a cure for spots, it takes several attempts and choices of medicine to finally produce a satisfying result.
Proving medicine’s inexact science, Dr. Potts, a white vet with a black vet tech, tries her best through trial and error to find a solution. The green potion removes the spots only to bring out stripes; the blue medicine removes stripes but produces beards; the yellow stuff eliminates beards but leaves the animals crying. “A crying fish, a crying cat, a sobbing snake, a sobbing rat, / A weeping rabbit, a weeping frog, a wailing canary, a wailing dog.” Each new attempt inspires curiosity as to what will happen next, and sure enough the red tincture stops the weeping but leaves Mr. Betts mystified as his animals have now “SHRUNK IN SIZE!” and are now a “very small fish, a very small cat, a little snake, a little rat, / A minute rabbit, a minute frog, a tiny canary, a tiny dog.” The rhyming text moves the humorous narrative forward, announcing each new development with a cumulative pattern offering a variety of synonyms in the refrain. Cartoon illustrations in acrylic and collage of a brown-skinned family bring out both exasperation at the hopelessness of the vet and sympathy for all involved. How to cure smallness? Mr. Betts is instructed to just feed his creatures, who indeed grow healthy. Couple this with Jules Feiffer’s Bark, George (1999).
“Veterinary misadventure” doesn’t normally pair with “rollicking read-aloud,” but here it does. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-78285-324-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
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
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