An easygoing story about seeking a place to call home and finding friendship in unlikely places.
Thompson’s children’s chapter book tells the story of an adventurous rodent who’s kind, brave, and looking for the good life.
Kudzu, a chipmunk, lives in a burrow in the flower garden on the Weatherbys' farm. One day, a stray German shepherd comes sniffing around and disturbs Kudzu’s burrow; fortunately, Mrs. Weatherby scares the dog off. While escaping further dangers, Kudzu ends up in the nearby woods, where he meets new creatures, such as Ophelia, an opossum. He also happens upon the German shepherd, but this time, the dog needs Kudzu’s help. The chipmunk then decides that returning to his parents’ burrow and reconnecting with his siblings is his best plan, but he’s devastated to find out that his childhood home has been bulldozed. Kudzu’s friendship with the dog, whose name is Quincy (“I heard someone read it off a street sign, and I decided to give it to myself”), grows as they teach each other about their worlds, and together they return to the Weatherbys’ place. Kudzu, Quincy, and a mouse named Stanley plot to ingratiate Quincy to the humans so that they’ll take him in as their pet. This chapter book is aimed at young readers, but it may remind older caregivers of movies such as Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993), in which animals, voiced by humans, wander around outdoors in a quest to get back where they belong. This story touches on some deep themes, such as parental loss, abandonment, and longing for connection, but the use of animals will make it easier to digest for a less-mature audience. Sometimes, however, the pace of the story is quite slow, with an excessive level of detail. The title also feels a bit misleading, as Kudzu’s life at the end of the book isn’t dramatically different from what it was at the start. Occasional realistic grayscale illustrations by Gledhill feature characters in various scenes from the narrative.
An easygoing story about seeking a place to call home and finding friendship in unlikely places.Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-63988-187-1
Page Count: 154
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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