bookshelf

WHERE DO BIG CREATURES SLEEP AT NIGHT?

Name: WHERE DO BIG CREATURES SLEEP AT NIGHT?
Author: Steven J. Simmons
ISBN: 978-1-62354-143-9

by Steven J. Simmons & Clifford R. Simmons ; illustrated by Ruth E. Harper ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 8, 2022

Light doses of natural history, but better written and more somniferous bedtime reads abound.

bookshelf

Animals from lions and elephants to crocodiles and anacondas bed down.

Actually, when it comes to the anaconda, “no one really knows if it actually does sleep.” But that’s not the only poetic license the father-and-son co-authors take as they record in stumbling metrics (“An ostrich is a bird that’s incredibly tall. / Its eggs can be bigger than a softball”) and a notably loose rhyme scheme not only where, but how various animals larger than those in Steven J. Simmons’ Where Do Creatures Sleep at Night? (2021), illustrated by Harper, first spend their days and then enjoy their downtime. The connection between text and images isn’t all that firm either, as the silverback gorilla gets male pronouns and the pride of lions collective ones, but all the rest of the animals are nongendered as its even though they appear to be mothers, since Harper depicts them alone with offspring in cozy proximity. An opening spread of toy animals held by variously toned hands hints at unsurprising closing scenes of human children, including a brown-skinned child, taking the final couplet to heart: “Then at night after you’re fed, / you snuggle up in your own sweet bed!” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Light doses of natural history, but better written and more somniferous bedtime reads abound. (Informational picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-62354-143-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Charlesbridge

Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
WHERE DO OCEAN CREATURES SLEEP AT NIGHT?
by Steven J. Simmons & Clifford R. Simmons ; illustrated by Ruth E. Harper

- BOOK REVIEW
WHERE DO CREATURES SLEEP AT NIGHT?
by Steven J. Simmons ; illustrated by Ruth E. Harper

- BOOK REVIEW
ALICE AND GRETA
by Steven J. Simmons & illustrated by Cyd Moore

bookshelf

MOMMIES ARE AMAZING

by Meredith Costain ; illustrated by Polona Lovšin ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2017

A $16.99 Mother’s Day card for cat lovers.

bookshelf

The team of Costain and Lovšin (Daddies are Awesome, 2016) gives moms their due.

Rhyming verses tell of all the ways moms are amazing: “Mommies are magic. / They kiss away troubles… // …find gold in the sunlight / and rainbows in bubbles.” Moms are joyful—the best playmates. They are also fearless and will protect and soothe if you are scared. Clever moms know just what to do when you’re sad, sporty moms run and leap and climb, while tender moms cuddle. “My mommy’s so special. / I tell her each day… // … just how much I love her / in every way!” Whereas dads were illustrated with playful pups and grown-up dogs in the previous book, moms are shown as cats with their kittens in myriad colors, sizes, and breeds. Lovšin’s cats look as though they are smiling at each other in their fun, though several spreads are distractingly cut in half by the gutter. However delightful the presentation—the verse rolls fairly smoothly, and the cats are pretty cute—the overall effect is akin to a cream puff’s: very sweet and insubstantial.

A $16.99 Mother’s Day card for cat lovers. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: April 4, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-62779-651-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: March 19, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
GRANDMAS ARE LOVELY
by Meredith Costain ; illustrated by Nicolette Hegyes

- BOOK REVIEW
DOUBLE DARE YOU
by Meredith Costain ; illustrated by Danielle McDonald

- BOOK REVIEW
DADDIES ARE AWESOME
by Meredith Costain ; illustrated by Polona Lovšin

bookshelf

SHARKBLOCK

From the Block Books series

by Christopher Franceschelli ; illustrated by Peskimo ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021

Captivating—and not a bit terrifying.

bookshelf

Catering to young scientists, naturalists, and Shark Week fans–to-be, this visually arresting volume presents a good deal of information in easily digested bites.

Like others in the Block Books series, this book feels both compact and massive. When closed, it is 5.5 inches across, 6.5 inches tall, and nearly 2 inches thick, weighty and solid, with stiff cardboard pages that boast creative die cuts and numerous fold-out three- and four-panel tableaux. While it’s possible it’s not the only book with a dorsal fin, it certainly must be among the best. The multiracial cast of aquarium visitors includes a Sikh man with his kids and a man of color who uses a wheelchair; there they discover the dramatic degree of variations among sharks. The book begins with a trip to a shark exhibit, complete with a megalodon jaw. The text points out that there are over 400 known types of sharks alive today, then introduces 18 examples, including huge whale sharks, tiny pocket sharks, and stealthy, well-camouflaged wobbegongs. Reef sharks prowl the warm waters of the surface, while sand tiger sharks explore shipwrecks on the ocean floor. Bioluminescent catsharks reside at the bottom of an inky black flap that folds down, signifying the deepest ocean depths, where no sunlight penetrates. Great whites get star treatment with four consecutive two-page spreads; their teeth and appetite impress but don’t horrify. The book does a wonderful job of highlighting the interconnectedness of species and the importance of environmental stewardship.

Captivating—and not a bit terrifying. (Board book. 3-5)