Required reading for all young children taking their first ventures into the wide world beyond immediate parental reach.
Little Nutbrown Hare bravely ventures out to the Far Field and back in four sweet new outings illustrated “in the style of” Anita Jeram.
With Big Nutbrown Hare still in attendance, Little Nutbrown nerves himself for a bit of climbing after his favorite Hiding Tree falls in a storm. He is also (very) briefly lost in fog on Cloudy Mountain, and he finds an interesting burrow in distant Far Field (but heeds his inner voice’s warning that dark holes are dangerous). Finally, he invites Big Nutbrown to guess his favorite place as the two are “wandering home at the end of the day.” Complementing McBratney’s mastery at capturing the feelings and concerns of toddlers in words, Wagner and Tarbett channel his original illustrator in posing sinuously drawn characters, alone and together, in ways that subtly but clearly express joy, anxiety, excitement and curiosity. Most strongly of all, they capture the intimate attachment that lights up all of the Hares’ appearances from Guess How Much I Love You (1995) on. Low tufts of wildflowers and other foliage backed by thin washes of pale greens and blues create a properly idyllic natural setting. Despite some unfortunate Americanizations and a picture of flying insects that are confusingly called "daddy-long-legs," this book is still close to sublime.
Required reading for all young children taking their first ventures into the wide world beyond immediate parental reach. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5896-0
Page Count: 72
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nifty read while everyone waits for the turkey to cook.
“Like” isn’t a strong enough word to express this feline’s feelings for Thanksgiving: “Bad Kitty LOVES turkey.”
Bad Kitty can do without all the fixings, though, thank you very much. In fact, the black cat’s expressive face and body language at just the thought of green beans or mashed potatoes or cranberry sauce will be familiar to caregivers who deal with picky eaters: paws clutching the throat, eyes bulging, and tongue stuck way out, for example. But when devious Kitty cooks up some plans to get all the turkey for herself, they go sadly awry. Instead, Kitty has close and calamitous encounters with green beans, then mashed potatoes, and finally cranberry sauce…along with a scolding from her human, who says there will be no turkey for Bad Kitty at all. The cat kicks the table in her rage, injuring her foot and bringing the turkey down on top of her. The final page repeats the title, depicting Bad Kitty in her basket with a bandaged head and foot and Chinese takeout containers crowding the dinner table. Simple text with lots of repetition makes this accessible for the youngest Bad Kitty fans, and the included stickers (meant for decoration, as there is no place for them in the book) cement the deal for that age group. Bruel’s masterful control of slapstick will have readers in stitches.
A nifty read while everyone waits for the turkey to cook. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-19842-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As a counting book, fun. As a new Sendak book, by its mere existence, notable.
A posthumously published tale of overly prolific bunnies from a master of the picture-book form.
A young magician bows before readers and releases a rabbit from his hat. More and more rabbits appear. As the book counts from one rabbit to 10, the boy becomes increasingly frustrated with the sheer number of bunnies appearing from his headwear. His irritation is alleviated only when the narrator declares, “So then—he made them vanish again!” Now the numbers count down, and with every rabbit gone the child grows distinctly happier and more lighthearted. Originally created in 1970 as a pamphlet for a fundraiser for Philadelphia’s Rosenbach Museum, this book is visually similar to such Sendak crowd-pleasers as the Nutshell Library titles, particularly One Was Johnny (1962). Adult fans seeking the darker and weightier subject matter associated with the author’s later works would do best to look elsewhere. Children, however, will be drawn to the escalating tide of fuzzy bunnies and will share the protagonist’s sense of satisfaction at watching them go. The artwork is filled with simple charm, and the counting element proves to be a nice plus as well. The protagonist has skin the white of the page.
As a counting book, fun. As a new Sendak book, by its mere existence, notable. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780062644671
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
