A sweet problem-solving romp for the preschool set.
Parenteau’s beloved bears are back, this time at the sea.
The sun is shining and the waves are crashing. Yellow, Fuzzy, Floppy, and Calico tromp to the beach, pails and shovels in hand. They are going to build a castle that reaches all the way to the sky! Big Brown Bear is there as well, overseeing the construction. The bears fill the pails with sand (Big Brown Bear comically uses Calico’s bottom to pack it down) and triumphantly overturn them. Oh no! The sand is too dry. They move close to the water to try that sand. But that sand is too soggy! They stare down at the sodden mounds in puzzled consternation. Yellow offers a possible solution: “We’ll build in between. / The sand will be damp / and our towers won’t lean.” They move partway up the beach, and it works! But then, while carving out windows and doors as embellishment, the castle collapses. These five pals are the picture of grit and perseverance. They start again. Will they figure out what changes to make? Walker’s cuddly, roly-poly bears (whose rotundity is echoed by the soft mounds of sand), learn to roll with the punches. Parenteau’s brief quatrains occasionally demand a forced stress, but by and large they scan neatly for a bubbly read-aloud. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sweet problem-solving romp for the preschool set. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0838-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender...
A polar-bear parent speaks poetically of love for a child.
A genderless adult and cub travel through the landscapes of an arctic year. Each of the softly rendered double-page paintings has a very different feel and color palette as the pair go through the seasons, walking through wintry ice and snow and green summer meadows, cavorting in the blue ocean, watching whales, and playing beside musk oxen. The rhymes of the four-line stanzas are not forced, as is the case too often in picture books of this type: “When cold, winter winds / blow the leaves far and wide, / You’ll cross the great icebergs / with me by your side.” On a dark, snowy night, the loving parent says: “But for now, cuddle close / while the stars softly shine. // I’ll always be yours, / and you’ll always be mine.” As the last illustration shows the pair curled up for sleep, young listeners will be lulled to sweet dreams by the calm tenor of the pictures and the words. While far from original, this timeless theme is always in demand, and the combination of delightful illustrations and poetry that scans well make this a good choice for early-childhood classrooms, public libraries, and one-on-one home read-alouds.
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender restrictions. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-070-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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