A sweet, if slight, story about a rabbit’s search for raspberries that relies too heavily on moral platitudes instead of...
A debut children’s book that features an inquisitive animal and his colorful circle of friends.
Montgomery Rabbit, a house bunny, has never ventured beyond his white fence, content to “play in the green grass” with a girl in “dusty boots.” When he spies another rabbit on the other side of the fence, his curiosity is piqued, and his adventure begins. Little’s quaint tale, augmented by Wenzel’s naturalistic paintings, calls to mind the exploits of Peter Rabbit and Winnie-the-Pooh. Although Montgomery and his friends speak to one another and express human emotions, they look and behave like real, reach-out-and-pet animals. They face realistic, although not too scary, challenges, from a coyote’s “jagged yellow teeth” to a hawk’s ominous shadow to a rattlesnake in the grass. Each chapter offers a new escapade in Montgomery’s quest to find the raspberry patch beyond the pond. During his journey, he asks for directions from three dogs (“They had long, droopy faces, flat ears, and short legs”) and stumbles across a spectacular rose garden and a magisterial yellow and black butterfly. His comrades include Bentley the bunny, a kind duck, and a helpful horse named Whisper. From them, however, Montgomery receives quite a few moralizing platitudes, including “You just have to find your own wings” and “Every experience shapes who we become.” Details of how Montgomery’s encounters transform his character would have been much more intriguing. When he reaches a surprising decision toward the book’s end, he doesn’t seem to have evolved enough to make his choice believable. Little’s text often enlivens the sights, sounds, and scents of the lovely rural setting captured by Wenzel’s gorgeous, masterly illustrations. But a tendency toward adjective overuse (“red juicy raspberries spilling over onto the green velvet grass”), clumsy constructions (“The sounds of the forest were haunting”), and clichés (rabbits “as quiet as mice”) interrupt the story’s flow. Nevertheless, Little’s plot moves along nicely, and every character adds charm.
A sweet, if slight, story about a rabbit’s search for raspberries that relies too heavily on moral platitudes instead of character development.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4575-4196-4
Page Count: 76
Publisher: Dog Ear
Review Posted Online: Jan. 4, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit.
Readers try to dislodge a monster from the pages of this emotive and interactive read-aloud.
“OH NO!” the story starts. “There’s a monster in your book!” The blue, round-headed monster with pink horns and a pink-tipped tail can be seen cheerfully munching on the opening page. “Let’s try to get him out,” declares the narrator. Readers are encouraged to shake, tilt, and spin the book around, while the monster careens around an empty background looking scared and lost. Viewers are exhorted to tickle the monster’s feet, blow on the page, and make a really loud noise. Finally, shockingly, it works: “Now he’s in your room!” But clearly a monster in your book is safer than a monster in your room, so he’s coaxed back into the illustrations and lulled to sleep, curled up under one page and cuddling a bit of another like a child with their blankie. The monster’s entirely cute appearance and clear emotional reactions to his treatment add to the interactive aspect, and some young readers might even resist the instructions to avoid hurting their new pal. Children will be brought along on the monster’s journey, going from excited, noisy, and wiggly to calm and steady (one can hope).
Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit. (Picture book. 2-7)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6456-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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