Confusing and sorely lacking context
In a chilly New England forest, the narrator, a birch stump, awaits the approaching cold, dark times.
At first, the stump is a proud birch tree until the day that Beaver gnaws it down, as beavers will do. As Beaver ambles off, the stump hears him complain about the approaching “cold and darkness.” Soon, other animals pass by the stump, and it asks if they have been gossiping about that cold and dark. Each one denies it, saying they heard it from some other animal, and so fear creeps into the forest. Later, Beaver returns to the stump, admitting that he spread the rumor to help everyone to prepare but does not know where he learned it. The stump waits, but all that comes is the returning warm weather, which brings its own surprise. Kelley’s text attempts to be a cautionary tale about how rumors spread and grow, but it doesn’t hang together. Readers accustomed to stories that explain the seasons will find it confusing—winter does come, and it is definitely a period of cold and darkness, at least in New England. In Kelley’s illustrations, beautifully painted, realistic-looking animals pose in Native dress. Although a concluding note explains that he bases his story in Wabanaki lore and his illustrations on a series of his paintings of tribal elders, there is no further context to ground readers or to situate them as to their authenticity.
Confusing and sorely lacking context . (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 24, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-944762-39-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Islandport Press
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender...
A polar-bear parent speaks poetically of love for a child.
A genderless adult and cub travel through the landscapes of an arctic year. Each of the softly rendered double-page paintings has a very different feel and color palette as the pair go through the seasons, walking through wintry ice and snow and green summer meadows, cavorting in the blue ocean, watching whales, and playing beside musk oxen. The rhymes of the four-line stanzas are not forced, as is the case too often in picture books of this type: “When cold, winter winds / blow the leaves far and wide, / You’ll cross the great icebergs / with me by your side.” On a dark, snowy night, the loving parent says: “But for now, cuddle close / while the stars softly shine. // I’ll always be yours, / and you’ll always be mine.” As the last illustration shows the pair curled up for sleep, young listeners will be lulled to sweet dreams by the calm tenor of the pictures and the words. While far from original, this timeless theme is always in demand, and the combination of delightful illustrations and poetry that scans well make this a good choice for early-childhood classrooms, public libraries, and one-on-one home read-alouds.
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender restrictions. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-070-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Willems’ formula is still a winner.
The pigeon is back, and he is filthy!
Readers haven’t seen the pigeon for a couple of years, not since The Duckling Gets a Cookie!? (2012), and apparently he hasn’t bathed in all that time. Per the usual routine, the bus driver (clad in shower cap and bathrobe) opens the story by asking readers to help convince the pigeon to take a bath. Though he’s covered in grime, the obstreperous bird predictably resists. He glares at readers and suggests that maybe they need baths. With the turn of the page, Willems anticipates readers’ energetic denials: The pigeon demands, “YEAH! When was the last time YOU had a bath?!” Another beat allows children to supply the answer. “Oh.” A trio of flies that find him repulsive (“P.U.!”) convinces him it’s time. One spread with 29 separate panels depicts the pigeon adjusting the bath (“Too wet!…Too cold.…Too reflective”) before the page turn reveals him jumping in with a spread-filling “SPLASH!” Readers accustomed to the pigeon formula will note that here the story breaks from its normal rhythms; instead of throwing a tantrum, the pigeon discovers what readers already know: “This is FUN!” All the elements are in place, including page backgrounds that modulate from dirty browns to fresh, clean colors and endpapers that bookend the story (including a very funny turnabout for the duckling, here a rubber bath toy).
Willems’ formula is still a winner. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9087-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
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