by Sebastian Meschenmoser ; illustrated by Sebastian Meschenmoser ; translated by David Henry Wilson ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 2, 2019
The majestic setup and the ensuing scatological humor make strange narrative bedfellows.
As a result of mistaken identity, the animals of the forest deal with a smelly mishap.
Legend has it that “once in a hundred years,” the King of the Forest, a chimeralike creature “crowned with leaves” appears. Longing to see this figure, Mr. Squirrel misidentifies a mutt with leafy branches stuck in his collar as the king. The forest animals diligently abide by the “king’s” wisdom but are confused with his decree to “leave their scent wherever they lived.” They all obey, and quickly “the whole forest stank to high heaven!” The animals seek refuge on a small island in the middle of the lake “where the wisdom of the king was still unknown.” Thankfully, the rain comes, and the smell is washed away. Readers have little explanation for the setup, dropping into an exposition of the legend via a yogic billy goat. Meschenmoser undoes the initial solemnity of the story with several spreads in which Mr. Squirrel and his hedgehog friend dodge various animals’ catapulting feces. The rough lines of the muted graphite-and–colored-pencil illustrations give layered textures to the creatures and the natural environment, a style that’s interrupted by a few spreads of richly colored paintings for the legend of the king. Perhaps readers of the other Mr. Squirrel books (It’s Springtime, Mr. Squirrel, 2018, etc.), also translated from German, will adapt better to the tonal changes of this lengthy tale.
The majestic setup and the ensuing scatological humor make strange narrative bedfellows. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: July 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4342-4
Page Count: 64
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: March 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010
Hee haw.
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The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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by Tedd Arnold ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2013
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity.
Buzz and his buzzy buddy open a spinoff series of nonfiction early readers with an aquarium visit.
Buzz: “Like other fish, sharks breathe through gills.” Fly Guy: “GILLZZ.” Thus do the two pop-eyed cartoon tour guides squire readers past a plethora of cramped but carefully labeled color photos depicting dozens of kinds of sharks in watery settings, along with close-ups of skin, teeth and other anatomical features. In the bite-sized blocks of narrative text, challenging vocabulary words like “carnivores” and “luminescence” come with pronunciation guides and lucid in-context definitions. Despite all the flashes of dentifrice and references to prey and smelling blood in the water, there is no actual gore or chowing down on display. Sharks are “so cool!” proclaims Buzz at last, striding out of the gift shop. “I can’t wait for our next field trip!” (That will be Fly Guy Presents: Space, scheduled for September 2013.)
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity. (Informational easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-50771-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
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