There’s a storytime in there.
Two children bravely go on an imaginative search for a tiger together.
While the limited text doesn’t have its rhythmic, rhyming cadence, there are echoes of Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (1989) in this playful story. Two children, one with brown skin and short, curly brown hair and the other with light-brown skin and straight, black hair, are in a treehouse when one asks the other, “Did you know there’s a tiger out there?” They then go in search of it in the yard, reassuring each other along the way. The dialogue-only text is presented with no speech bubbles or tags, sometimes italicized and sometimes not, so it’s sometimes difficult to discern who is speaking. Nor is the relationship between the children ever defined. They could be friends, cousins, or siblings in a mixed-race family. Such details ultimately aren’t important, because what’s clear is that these two kids are as devoted to each other as they are to their imaginative play. The closing text reads: “…we’re together. And nothing scares us. / Never ever! Cross our hearts.” It’s set beside a picture of the two children back in their treehouse, their arms around each other and a toy stuffed tiger on their laps. The illustrations look like collage, with a happy hodgepodge effect that further grounds the story in child’s play. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.5-by-19-inch double-page spreads viewed at 56 % of actual size.)
There’s a storytime in there. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-76050-144-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Hare/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren.
In talk-show host Fallon and illustrator Ordóñez’s latest picture-book collaboration, an elderly pooch waxes rhapsodic about a life well lived.
Observing Papa sitting in his chair watching TV all day, a young pup says, “I’m starting to think…you don’t do ANYTHING.” So Papa proceeds to list his accomplishments, both big and small, mundane and profound. Some are just a result of being older and physically bigger (being tall enough to reach a high shelf and strong enough to open jars); others include winning a race and performing in a band when he was younger. Eventually, the pup realizes that while Papa may have slowed down in his old age, he’s led a full life. The most satisfying thing about Papa’s life now? Watching his grandchild take center stage: “I can say lots of thoughts / but I choose to be quiet. / I’d rather you discover things and then try it.” Fallon’s straightforward text is sweetly upbeat, though it occasionally lacks flow, forcing incongruous situations together to fit the rhyme scheme (“I cook and I mow, / and I once flew a plane. // I play newspaper puzzles because it’s good for my brain”). Featuring uncluttered, colorful backgrounds, Ordóñez’s child-friendly digital art at times takes on sepia tones, evoking the sense of looking back at old photos or memories. Though the creators tread familiar ground, the love between Papa and his little one is palpable.
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781250393975
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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