An enthralling introduction to birds and encouragement to take in the world around us.
A morning at the park proves rich in avian activity.
Levine’s latest nature book invites interaction from the start. An overall-clad child outdoors asks where the birds are. An adult companion, using a motorized mobility scooter, offers a suggestion: “Let’s be very quiet and listen.” Coos, caws, and chee-chee-chees follow. The adult asks the child (and readers), “Do you see any birds?” And there they are! To induce them to come closer, the adult suggests feeding them. And when they flock to the scattered seeds, the grown-up asks, “Can you count how many there are?...What colors do you see?... Which pigeon is your favorite?” A shy sparrow isn’t getting enough to eat, so the adult urges readers to scatter seeds just for her, and in a stunning close-up, indeed, the bright-eyed bird looks “so happy!” Can readers find the squirrel? How about other wildlife? And after growing tired of holding still, the child decides to be a (pretend) bird—and urges other little ones to flap their own arms and make noise. The birds take flight, and the humans must leave, too, but we can still “wonder what we’ll see on the way home!” Barron employs a range of splashy colors as she imbues her cut-paper collage and acrylic art with vivid three-dimensionality; her careful composition offers unusual perspectives. Adult and child are brown-skinned.
An enthralling introduction to birds and encouragement to take in the world around us. (information on the birds depicted, further reading) (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781464222955
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
PERSPECTIVES
A good choice for a late fall storytime.
Animal behaviors change as they prepare to face the winter.
Migrate, hibernate, or tolerate. With smooth rhymes and jaunty illustrations, Salas and Gévry introduce three strategies animals use for coping with winter cold. The author’s long experience in imparting information to young readers is evident in her selection of familiar animals and in her presentation. Spread by spread she introduces her examples, preparing in fall and surviving in winter. She describes two types of migration: Hummingbirds and monarchs fly, and blue whales travel to the warmth of the south; earthworms burrow deeper into the earth. Without using technical words, she introduces four forms of hibernation—chipmunks nap and snack; bears mainly sleep; Northern wood frogs become an “icy pop,” frozen until spring; and normally solitary garter snakes snuggle together in huge masses. Those who can tolerate the winter still change behavior. Mice store food and travel in tunnels under the snow; moose grow a warmer kind of fur; the red fox dives into the snow to catch small mammals (like those mice); and humans put on warm clothes and play. The animals in the soft pastel illustrations are recognizable, more cuddly than realistic, and quite appealing; their habitats are stylized. The humans represent varied ethnicities. Each page includes two levels of text, and there’s further information in the extensive backmatter. Pair with Joyce Sidman and Rick Allen’s Winter Bees (2014).
A good choice for a late fall storytime. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5415-2900-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
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