When Holly’s Mommy goes out, Daddy tells her “a story about when [she was] a new baby.” The story becomes a gentle father-daughter conversation, in which Holly poses a series of what-ifs: “What if I were a baby kangaroo?” Her father answers each hypothetical with scientifically sound information; if Holly had been a baby shark, for instance, her mother might have eaten her—but “[y]our mother would never do that.” Lovelock’s full-bleed watercolor, ink and pencil illustrations deftly superimpose the habitat of whatever animal is under discussion over Holly and Daddy cuddling in her bedroom, cleverly allowing for visual comparisons. Kangaroos jump over the pair; seahorses swim by them. The images of parent-child affection are unforced and genuinely sweet—a breath of fresh air in this saccharine season. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: April 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4685-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2010
Fish sporting bright colors and broadly brushed patterns flash across solid blue color fields, as Little Fish introduces finny friends, from “spotty fish, stripy fish, happy fish, gripy fish,” to “eye fish, shy fish, fly fish, sky fish.” Cousins slips in several opportunities for counting, along with all the color and pattern recognition practice, and has Little Fish close on an intimate note, with “the one I love the best,” his mom, coming in for a smooch. Preschoolers will happily dive into this oversized cousin to Lois Ehlert’s Fish Eyes (1990), and Cousins’ own Maisy’s Rainbow Dream (2003). (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: June 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-7636-2741-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Watching unlikely friends finally be as “happy as two someones can be” feels like being enveloped in your very own hug.
What to do when you’re a prickly animal hankering for a hug? Why, find another misfit animal also searching for an embrace!
Sweet but “tricky to hug” little Hedgehog is down in the dumps. Wandering the forest, Hedgehog begs different animals for hugs, but each rejects them. Readers will giggle at their panicked excuses—an evasive squirrel must suddenly count its three measly acorns; a magpie begins a drawn-out song—but will also be indignant on poor hedgehog’s behalf. Hedgehog has the appealingly pink-cheeked softness typical of Dunbar’s art, and the gentle watercolors are nonthreatening, though she also captures the animals’ genuine concern about being poked. A wise owl counsels the dejected hedgehog that while the prickles may frighten some, “there’s someone for everyone.” That’s when Hedgehog spots a similarly lonely tortoise, rejected due to its “very hard” shell but perfectly matched for a spiky new friend. They race toward each other until the glorious meeting, marked with swoony peach swirls and overjoyed grins. At this point, readers flip the book to hear the same gloomy tale from the tortoise’s perspective until it again culminates in that joyous hug, a book turn that’s made a pleasure with thick creamy paper and solid binding.
Watching unlikely friends finally be as “happy as two someones can be” feels like being enveloped in your very own hug. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-571-34875-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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