The dog’s-eye-view perspective makes this a lighthearted choice for explaining adoption.
A dog shares what it means to be adopted.
Reagandoodle has a new human best friend, Little Buddy, who is being adopted, just as he was, so the dog tells Little Buddy about all of the wonderful things adoption “means”: It means you belong and are loved, you will always have hugs and kisses, a safe place to sleep, and food to eat. Little Buddy’s parents “love [him] much deeper than oceans [and] more than the universe.” From discussions about celebrating Christmas and Easter and praying before dinner, readers will assume Christianity is an important part of this family’s beliefs. Little Buddy and the human members of his family present white in Sparks’ stiff but amiable watercolors. Typical childhood activities such as reading, napping, and selling lemonade are featured in this book consistently. The story is based on the experiences of the author’s grandchild, and photos of the real Reagandoodle and Little Buddy are presented along with the true story of Little Buddy’s journey from foster child to joining his family by adoption. Since this story is one of an older child being adopted and not an infant, this would be an appropriate book for families that have grown through the foster-adopt process.
The dog’s-eye-view perspective makes this a lighthearted choice for explaining adoption. (Picture book. 4-11)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7369-7468-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harvest House
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
A spiritually satisfying whale of a tale.
The familiar biblical story is told from the perspective of the swallowing whale.
God sends a newly created sperm whale a family to ease his loneliness and plenty of fish to assuage his hunger. Whale plays and sings and glides through the sea. There are fishermen about, so humankind has also appeared. One stormy night Whale hears Jonah taking the blame for the storm and begging to be thrown overboard. When he is tossed to the sea, God directs Whale to save him. Not knowing how to accomplish this, he opens his mouth, slurps and swallows Jonah. But, “Now what?” wonders Whale. Whale is reasonably patient, but he begins to feel abandoned and queasy, sympathizing with Jonah, who must be feeling the same way. So he sings to the man, hears God’s response in the music and spits Jonah safely onto land. Employing lovely, descriptive language with contemporary syntax in brief, pointed sentences, Spinelli makes the Bible story accessible for young readers by turning the tale around and focusing not on the human, but on the faithful whale. Whale is grateful, obedient and caring of God’s other creatures, and he shines with goodness. Ferri’s watercolor-and-pencil illustrations glow in blues, greens and yellows that deepen to grays and purples during the storm.
A spiritually satisfying whale of a tale. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5382-0
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012
A misguided effort with some flashes of humor but far too much text. (Picture book/religion. 4-8)
Eight animal characters from familiar Bible stories serve as narrators for this overlong collection first published in England.
The stories from the Old Testament include a snake recounting the Garden of Eden story, a raven presenting the tale of Noah and his Ark, the whale describing the prophet Jonah and a lion retelling the story of Daniel in the lions’ den. New Testament narrators are a lamb, a wolf and a donkey in stories from the life of Jesus and a cockerel telling the story of the first Easter. Each story is three or four pages of text in first-person narration by the individual animal, with most stories too long for the intended audience. All the animal characters sound like well-educated, adult humans wearing animal costumes, complete with anthropomorphic insights. Each story has several small illustrations and one larger one, in a pleasant folk-art style with simplified shapes and a flattened perspective. However, the ratio of illustrations to text will not hold the interest of most young children.
A misguided effort with some flashes of humor but far too much text. (Picture book/religion. 4-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7459-6220-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Lion/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: Feb. 29, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2012
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