by Sean Cassidy ; illustrated by Sean Cassidy ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2014
Skip.
On his first solo expedition to find food, a woodpecker named Pierce figures out how to evict a skunk from a log full of juicy bugs.
The story begins with a picture of a mother woodpecker gripping her child in a headlock as the text avers, “Pierce knew that he was old enough to leave the nest.” On the next pages, when Pierce assures his mother he is ready for independence, readers learn a nature fact—the woodpecker’s foraging process: “Find an old tree. Hammer the wood. Eat the yummy bugs.” Pierce then has difficult encounters with several woodland creatures who chase him away from their various nests. Pierce’s apparently clever use of bees as an asset to his campaign to gain access to old trees turns a nominally realistic story into science fiction. Some young readers may enjoy the humor inherent in such exaggerations as a beak accordioned by hammering. The story also allows the youngest children practice in sequencing, as Pierce systematically revisits everyone he has previously seen. The use of realistically portrayed human eyeballs in animals covered with feathers and fur is visually disquieting; an opossum playing dead is particularly grotesque. The best part of the book is at the end, where there are two carefully presented pages of facts about woodpeckers and creative activities centered on the birds.
Skip. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-55455-284-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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by Greg Pizzoli ; illustrated by Greg Pizzoli ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2019
There’s nothing especially new here, but the good-natured celebration of books, reading, and libraries will charm fellow...
A porcine hoarder of books learns to read—and to share.
The Book Hog’s obsession is clear from the start. Short declarative sentences describe his enthusiasm (“The Book Hog loved books”), catalog the things he likes about the printed page, and eventually reveal his embarrassing secret (“He didn’t know how to read”). While the text is straightforward, plenty of amusing visual details will entertain young listeners. A picture of the Book Hog thumbing through a book while seated on the toilet should induce some giggles. The allusive name of a local bookshop (“Wilbur’s”) as well as the covers of a variety of familiar and much-loved books (including some of the author’s own) offer plenty to pore over. And the fact that the titles become legible only after our hero learns to read is a particularly nice touch. A combination of vignettes, single-page illustrations and double-page spreads that feature Pizzoli’s characteristic style—heavy black outlines, a limited palette of mostly salmon and mint green, and simple shapes—move the plot along briskly. Librarians will appreciate the positive portrayal of Miss Olive, an elephant who welcomes the Book Hog warmly to storytime, though it’s unlikely most will be able to match her superlative level of service.
There’s nothing especially new here, but the good-natured celebration of books, reading, and libraries will charm fellow bibliophiles, and the author’s fans will enjoy making another anthropomorphic animal friend. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-03689-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
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by Suzanne Slade ; illustrated by Nicole Tadgell ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 6, 2018
A solid, small step for diversifying STEM stories.
What does Annie want to be?
As career day approaches, Annie wants to keep her job choice secret until her family sees her presentation at school. Readers will figure it out, however, through the title and clues Tadgell incorporates into the illustrations. Family members make guesses about her ambitions that are tied to their own passions, although her brother watches as she completes her costume in a bedroom with a Mae Jemison poster, starry décor, and a telescope. There’s a celebratory mood at the culminating presentation, where Annie says she wants to “soar high through the air” like her basketball-playing mother, “explore faraway places” like her hiker dad, and “be brave and bold” like her baker grandmother (this feels forced, but oven mitts are part of her astronaut costume) so “the whole world will hear my exciting stories” like her reporter grandfather. Annie jumps off a chair to “BLAST OFF” in a small illustration superimposed on a larger picture depicting her floating in space with a reddish ground below. It’s unclear if Annie imagines this scene or if it’s her future-self exploring Mars, but either scenario fits the aspirational story. Backmatter provides further reading suggestions and information about the moon and four women astronauts, one of whom is Jemison. Annie and her family are all black.
A solid, small step for diversifying STEM stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-88448-523-0
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Tilbury House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
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