A miss.
Poor Alan really needs to go!
In a text rife with potty-humor punning, Alan (a blue teddy bear), is in line to go “whizzing down the very tall slide with his friends” at a fair when he starts dancing furiously. Giraffe and others ask why he’s doing this, and he explains “I need to wee!” But he doesn’t want to interrupt his fun to take care of business. Unfortunately, delays, long lines, and other impediments on the way to the potty make the situation “desperate.” Alan searches for quasi-potties but is stymied at every turn: He can’t use a doll’s toilet because it’s the “teeny tiny” one in her dollhouse; Robot objects to his attempted use of a teapot: “It’s…not a wee-pot!”; Magic Rabbit exclaims, “Don’t even think about it!” when Alan nearly pees in its hat. When Alan inadvertently ends up dancing away on stage, he wins first prize in a contest and is awarded a large, gold trophy, which he promptly uses to relieve himself. What happens to the resulting urine is left to readers to ponder, though perhaps many would rather leave the book aside without solving that mystery, since the story’s seemingly interminable chain of events grows tiresome well before its resolution. The busy digital illustrations with a palette verging on the garish don’t offer much relief.
A miss. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4814-9039-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
This witty introduction to opposites will be treasured by Chickie fans of all ages.
This new volume in Trasler’s popular Chickies series (Bedtime for Chickies, 2014; A New Chick for Chickies, 2014, etc.) introduces opposites.
Pig, Cow, and Sheep decide it’s picture time for Chickies. All the animals take part in a boisterous photo shoot, showcasing pairs of opposites along the way. In some instances, the concepts are crystal clear, such as when the text “Chickies in. / Chickies out” is paired with an illustration of the Chickies inside and outside a box of clothing. Other times, the concepts can be tricky. For instance, it may take a while for toddlers to puzzle out the up/down pairing, in which the “Chickies up” illustration features a snapshot of a Chickie in midjump, showing just its bottom half with feet off the ground. “Chickie’s down” catches it on the descent, showing just the top of its head. In a nifty twist, the predictable rhymes and picture-taking session are interrupted with several clever photo-bombs. For example: “Chickies then. / Chickies now. / Chickies dance / and take a… // COW!” The illustration presents Cow in a tutu instead of the bowing Chickies readers might have expected. Bright, bold illustrations, smooth rhyming verse, and clever wordplay make this another Chickie keeper.
This witty introduction to opposites will be treasured by Chickie fans of all ages. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234231-7
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
On balance, the book is original and refreshingly lacking in sugary cuteness—a keeper indeed.
An upbeat tale of a superachiever first published in English in 1987 as First Comes Harry, newly retranslated by Hajimeni.
The nameless protagonist, a boy, is the first to wake up, get dressed, brush his teeth, eat breakfast, leap out the door, jump over a trash can and run up a slide. He is the first to fall down and cry, but he’s also the first to laugh. He is the first to argue, the first to make up, and the first to march and do a handstand. His frantically busy day tires him out, so naturally, he is the first to finish dinner and the first to fall asleep. One of many older books by Japanese author-illustrator Gomi to be recently retranslated into English, this is a good example of how well they stand the test of time. The understated flat wash style with naïvely rendered figures, lack of perspective and simple shapes is instantly appealing to the youngest children, even if they can’t read yet. On some pages, the washes of flat color sometimes seem too large and uninteresting for the content; conceivably these illustrations would be better suited to a smaller format similar to Gomi’s board books.
On balance, the book is original and refreshingly lacking in sugary cuteness—a keeper indeed. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4521-1125-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2014
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