Send this one back out to sea.
Narwhals paint on walls—don’t they?
With its long twisted horn (actually a canine tooth), this member of the whale family is not very familiar to most children. The bespectacled kid narrator who has just created an enormous mess declares that “a narwhal is a rainbow-painting, elephant-sized, purple polka-dotted, flying pie maker” in an attempt to shift responsibility for the havoc on to the bluish mammal with the flippers and the horn who just happens to be in the house. Well, the narwhal begs to differ. How does the kid know about narwhals? The narwhal manages to convince the kid that it is the real deal, a fact confirmed by a check on the kid’s smartphone. Conceding, the narrator starts cleaning up the mess, but the action doesn’t stop there. When the narwhal plays a sneaky trick, is the kid fooled? The usual happy ending for a silly picture book takes place, and the kid and the narwhal end up becoming friends. Different typefaces are used for the two characters’ speech (there is no narrative text); the scratchy cartoon pictures are amusing and full of action; and the introduction of a rare mammal makes for a somewhat original twist on the silly picture book. Unfortunately, the setup is too over-the-top to sustain engagement with what is in the end a fairly thin gag stretched out over many pages. The kid has peachy skin and long, straight, black hair. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 38.2% of actual size.)
Send this one back out to sea. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-62979-581-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
Totes adorbs.
A cuddly, squishy pug’s puggy-wuggy diary.
Equipped with both #pugunicorn and #pughotdog outfits, pug Baron von Bubbles (aka Bub) is the kind of dog that always dresses to impress. Bub also makes lots of memorable faces, such as the “Hey, you’re not the boss of me!” expression aimed at Duchess, the snooty pink house cat. Some of Bub’s favorite things include skateboarding, a favorite teddy, and eating peanut butter. Bub also loves Bella, who adopted Bub from a fair—it was “love at first sniff.” Together, Bub and Bella do a lot of arts and crafts. Their latest project: entering Bella’s school’s inventor challenge by making a super-duper awesome rocket. But, when the pesky neighborhood squirrel, Nutz, makes off with Bub’s bear, Bub accidentally ruins their project. How will they win the contest? More importantly, how will Bella ever forgive him? May’s cutesy, full-color cartoon art sets the tone for this pug-tastic romp for the new-to–chapter-books crowd. Emojilike faces accentuate Bub’s already expressive character design. Bub’s infectious first-person narration pushes the silly factor off the charts. In addition to creating the look and feel of a diary, the lined paper helps readers follow the eight-chapter story. Most pages have fewer than five sentences, often broken into smaller sections. Additional text appears in color-coded speech bubbles. Bella presents white.
Totes adorbs. (Fiction. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-53003-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
Accessible, reassuring and hopeful.
This endearing picture book about a timid boy who longs to belong has an agenda but delivers its message with great sensitivity.
Brian wants to join in but is overlooked, even ostracized, by his classmates. Readers first see him alone on the front endpapers, drawing in chalk on the ground. The school scenarios are uncomfortably familiar: High-maintenance children get the teacher’s attention; team captains choose kickball players by popularity and athletic ability; chatter about birthday parties indicates they are not inclusive events. Tender illustrations rendered in glowing hues capture Brian’s isolation deftly; compared to the others and his surroundings, he appears in black and white. What saves Brian is his creativity. As he draws, Brian imagines amazing stories, including a poignant one about a superhero with the power to make friends. When a new boy takes some ribbing, it is Brian who leaves an illustrated note to make him feel better. The boy does not forget this gesture. It only takes one person noticing Brian for the others to see his talents have value; that he has something to contribute. Brian’s colors pop. In the closing endpapers, Brian’s classmates are spread around him on the ground, “wearing” his chalk-drawn wings and capes. Use this to start a discussion: The author includes suggested questions and recommended reading lists for adults and children.
Accessible, reassuring and hopeful. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-582-46450-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
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