A fabulous friendship feast for the eyes and the heart.
A friendly reminder that each friendship is special in its own unique way.
This follow-up to Henn’s All Kinds of Animal Families (2021) features unusual animal friendships. These friendly animal pairs live all over the world, in the backyard, the forest, the oceans, rivers, and the savanna. Right double-page spreads put the animals front and center, sometimes with an unusual perspective, such as a bird’s-eye view of two different birds offering worms to a nest full of hungry babies with gaping mouths, but always with crisp details: The stark contrasts of the black-and-white zebras, the clearly delineated hippos half submerged in a muddy river, and a dolphin and humpback splashing along a coastline all pop. Each spread has text on two levels. For younger listeners, a one-sentence statement summarizes the spread’s content. “Occasionally, friends can be friends just because.” For listeners ready for more, there is a short description that offers more detail. “[T]he rufous woodpecker actually lays its eggs in the middle of the black tree ants’ nest. The ants protect the eggs from being eaten by other creatures—but no one really knows why they do this!” Backmatter thumbnail entries contain even more fun facts about each animal depicted: A hippo can hold its breath for up to seven minutes under water, but it can’t swim. (It actually runs along the river bottom.)
A fabulous friendship feast for the eyes and the heart. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68464-316-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
Larry could use a better compass.
As Larry Gets Lost again per series formula, the dog and his boy, Pete, look for alphabet letters and explore New York City.
The sights they take in are sometimes specific and sometimes generic, but they are mostly iconic: “C is for Central Park and the Chrysler building,” while “D is for deli.” “W is for Wall Street,” and “Y is for Yankee Stadium” exemplify New York City, but “I is for ice cream” seems a bit of a stretch. Several entries will require some context for many readers, such as “A is for art” (a lineup of Warhol soup cans at the Museum of Modern Art); “H is for the High Line”; and “V is for the Village” (Greenwich Village, that is). In Skewes’ retro-styled illustrations, Pete is a white boy who looks a bit like Elroy Jetson, with hair puffing out from beneath the brim of a baseball cap, and Larry is similarly stylized. The mostly silhouetted background figures that occasionally appear do nothing to convey the city’s tremendous cultural diversity. The pages are largely just one- or two-color designs in a sophisticated palette that occasionally works against meaning: The blue-on-blue “N is for neon at night” (in Times Square) is devoid of neon. The square size makes the pages feel cramped. NY Is for New York, by Paul Thurlby (2017), does much the same thing and is far more attractive.
Larry could use a better compass. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-63217-167-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Bigfoot/Sasquatch
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A thoroughly amusing way to introduce kids to bug behavior.
Are bugs good parents?
Are they loving and affectionate? Do they feed their offspring? Playful contrasts between human and insect behavior will captivate young readers as they listen to the read-aloud–friendly text and view the alternating cartoonlike spoofs on human living and detailed bug environments. In one picture, a bug hides its eyes and exclaims, “Where’s Baby?” to two excited baby bugs. The text reads: “Bugs don’t play peekaboo.” After the page turn, the text reads: “But tortoise beetle babies do get to hide.” The illustration displays an un-anthropomorphized tortoise beetle mother realistically sheltering “her young under her speckled shell.” The book uses this format throughout to show true insect behavior in a way that young children can absorb easily. On another page, the text reads: “For dinner bugs don’t make soup.” Some adults may not be charmed by the burying beetles that use their saliva to create a “soupy meal” in craters of mouse meat for their little ones, but kids will thoroughly enjoy these weird facts. The last spread shows an interracial family (white dad and black mom with a biracial child), lots of bug toys, and the message learned through this journey: “Bugs ARE like us” (“aren’t” is crossed out). Further information about the insects is presented in the informative backmatter along with an exhortation to get outside and explore nature.
A thoroughly amusing way to introduce kids to bug behavior. (bibliography) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-58089-816-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
