Huck is a goat with an eclectic appetite. But most of the usual goat edibles just don’t tickle the taste buds. He finds that woolly gloves stick in his teeth, and “cardboard boxes taste like boring afternoons.” His all-time favorite tasty treats are flowers. It doesn’t matter whether they are on top of a mountain or in Mr. Watson’s bouquet or on Mrs. Spooner’s hat. Even flower patterns on clothing or table linens call to him. Huck tries, but each attempt to reach those elusive flowers leads to disaster, leaving him tumbling down a mountain, being chased by a big dog, colliding with a bicycle. But this intrepid (or, shall we say, maniacal) goat remains undaunted by fear, prior experience or reason. Taylor employs simple, conversational language in a fast-paced, almost breathless, easy-breezy cadence that draws readers right into Huck’s adventures. Double-page spreads of Reynolds’ detailed, cartoon-like, watercolor, ink and tea illustrations on a bright, white background surround the large-print text. Words and phrases like, “Uh-oh,” and “Oh No,” and the often-repeated “He can’t resist!” are boldly hand-lettered for emphasis. But Huck is the star here; his expressions are wildly enthusiastic, goofy and totally demented. Hilarious, laugh-out-loud fun. (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3261-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Gorgeously whimsical and utterly convincing.
What happens after the midway closes and rides shut down for the night?
Forest animals—deer, bears, squirrels, a stoat, a badger or two, a wolf, a fox, rabbits, mice—peer from the shadows of trees by the field where trucks arrive to set up the county fair. They watch from the edge of the woods as the fairground fills with humans who stay late into the evening. The families leave, the caretaker pulls a large switch, and the fairground is, for a moment, dark and empty. Only the silhouettes of the creatures can be seen against the dark forest, along with many pairs of glowing eyes, moving toward the now-quiet fairground. A lively after-hours adventure follows. Two raccoons flip the switch on as furry fairgoers bring mushrooms, wildflowers, pine cones, and acorns for payment. Di Giorgio interprets Sterer’s wordless tale in a rich, soft palette, with dramatic full openings and multiple detailed frames conveying the excitement, the lights, the smells of popcorn and fairground foods, the sounds of rides and riders. Even the harmless flames of the Dante’s Inferno ride seem fun. Animals whirl in teacups, ride the roller coaster under the moon, and leave at dawn, tired, happy, and a bit sticky. The wolf, at the edge of a lake, releases a goldfish won at the ring-toss booth. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Gorgeously whimsical and utterly convincing. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1115-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
Like its subject: full of bustling life yet peaceful.
Life buzzes in a community garden.
Surrounded by apartment buildings, this city garden gets plenty of human attention, but the book’s stars are the plants and insects. The opening spread shows a black child in a striped shirt sitting in a top-story window; the nearby trees and garden below reveal the beginnings of greenery that signal springtime. From that high-up view, the garden looks quiet—but it’s not. “Sleepy slugs / and garden snails / leave behind their silver trails. / Frantic teams of busy ants / scramble up the stems of plants”; and “In the earth / a single seed / sits beside a millipede. / Worms and termites / dig and toil / moving through the garden soil.” Sicuro zooms in too, showing a robin taller than a half-page; later, close-ups foreground flowers, leaves, and bugs while people (children and adults, a multiracial group) are crucial but secondary, sometimes visible only as feet. Watercolor illustrations with ink and charcoal highlights create a soft, warm, horticulturally damp environment. Scale and perspective are more stylized than literal. McCanna’s superb scansion never misses, incorporating lists of insects and plants (“Lacewings, gnats, / mosquitos, spiders, / dragonflies, and water striders / live among the cattail reeds, / lily pads, and waterweeds”) with description (“Sunlight warms the morning air. / Dewdrops shimmer / here and there”). Readers see more than gardeners do, such as rabbits stealing carrots and lettuce from garden boxes.
Like its subject: full of bustling life yet peaceful. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1797-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
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