by Shelley Rotner & photographed by Shelley Rotner ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2001
Stunning full-color photographs and seven playful, brief poems about everyday objects will delight young viewers and care-givers who are invited to guess the objects described in word clues with several accompanying close-up photographs. For example, “Smooth and round / with a striped green skin / Red fruit, / black seeds hidden within / Garden ripe and / ready to eat / Taste the / WATERMELON, / juicy and sweet.” The co-author/photographer of The Body Book (2000), Rotner here targets the familiar and important everyday icons of a young child’s world with carefully chosen, intimate shots that invite repeated examination. Here is the tongue of a dog, a black wet nose, a half-curled tail, spotted fur, and then the double-page portrait of the whole dog with the punch line “A loyal DOG is one great pet.” Other poems feature a tulip, school bus, bike, a child, and home. Endpapers and the back cover suggest new poems the viewer might write: showing parts of a cantaloupe, flowering tree, or fire truck. A terrific way of getting children to think about the whole by seeing the parts. Great for reading aloud, too. (Poetry. 3-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8027-8753-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2001
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by Gwen Agna & Shelley Rotner ; photographed by Shelley Rotner
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by Michael Whaite ; illustrated by Michael Whaite ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2019
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their...
Less ambitious than Chris Gall’s widely known Dinotrux (2009) and sequels, this British import systematically relegates each dinosaur/construction-equipment hybrid to its most logical job.
The title figures are introduced as bigger than both diggers and dinosaurs, and rhyming text and two construction-helmeted kids show just what these creatures are capable of. Each diggersaur has a specific job to do and a distinct sound effect. The dozersaurus moves rocks with a “SCRAAAAPE!!!” while the rollersaurus flattens lumps with a cheery “TOOT TOOT!!” Each diggersaur is numbered, with 12 in all, allowing this to be a counting book on the sly. As the diggersaurs (not all of which dig) perform jobs that regular construction equipment can do, albeit on a larger scale, there is no particular reason why any of them should have dinosaurlike looks other than just ’cause. Peppy computer art tries valiantly to attract attention away from the singularly unoriginal text. “Diggersaurs dig with bites so BIG, / each SCOOP creates a crater. // They’re TOUGH and STRONG / with necks so long— / they’re super EXCAVATORS!” Far more interesting are the two human characters, a white girl and a black boy, that flit about the pictures offering commentary and action. Much of the fun of the book can be found in trying to spot them on every two-page spread.
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their dino/construction kicks. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-4779-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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by Michael Whaite ; illustrated by Michael Whaite
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by Michael Whaite ; illustrated by Michael Whaite
by Andrea Tsurumi ; illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 11, 2021
Whether in hand or on shelf, this one’s sure to make a splash anywhere and everywhere.
A frog tries to do everything a goat does, too.
Goat asks Frog to look at them before declaring “I’m ON it!” while balancing atop a tree stump near a pond. After an “Oooh!” and a “You know what?” Frog leaps off their lily pad to balance on a rock: “I’m on it, too!” Goat grabs a prop so that they can be both “on it AND beside it.” (It may take young readers a little bit to realize there are two its.) So does Frog. The competition continues as Frog struggles to mimic overconfident Goat’s antics. In addition to on and beside, the pair adds inside, between, under, and more. Eventually, it all gets to be too much for Frog to handle, so Frog falls into the water, resumes position on the lily pad, and declares “I am OVER it” while eating a fly. In an act of solidarity, Goat jumps in, too. In Tsurumi’s first foray into early readers she pares down her energetic, colorful cartoon style to the bare essentials without losing any of the madcap fun. Using fewer than 80 repeated words (over 12 of which are prepositions), the clever text instructs, delights, and revels in its own playfulness. Color-coded speech bubbles (orange for Goat, green for Frog) help match the dialogue with each speaker. Like others in the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading series, Elephant and Piggie metafictively bookend the main narrative with hilariously on-the-nose commentary.
Whether in hand or on shelf, this one’s sure to make a splash anywhere and everywhere. (Early reader. 4-8)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-368-06696-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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