A simple but engaging and charming work.
A collection of animal stories for beginning readers.
Marasciulo’s collection of five illustrated stories is designed for very beginning readers, with a comic book–like illustration style that straddles the gap between picture book and graphic novel. The opening story, “This Is Pat,” introduces readers to the book’s sole human character, a White man with long hair who wears torn blue pants and a matching vest. Pat has an affinity for animals, who arrange themselves in a stack on his head over the course of the story. In “Pat Had a Ship,” an unfortunate sailing adventure gives Pat an opportunity to connect with more animals, this time on a floating log. In “Bud,” about a dog who is drawn to mud, Pat tries to keep his pal clean. “Zig and Zag” follows a pair of bugs Pat tries to keep in a box. Pat is absent from the book’s final story, “The Tunnel,” in which a group of bugs run away from a tick only to find that he isn’t as scary as they had believed. The book, which rarely has more than a dozen words to a page, uses simple syntax and vocabulary (“Then Frog got on the log”), keeping the text within reach of the earliest of readers. This occasionally leads to awkward verb use (“Bud did hop in the mud”), but it never interferes with comprehension, and each story is a fully realized narrative despite its brevity and limited word choice. Changochamango’s colorful cartoonish illustrations—sometimes a single frame to a page, occasionally three or more—do an excellent job of capturing the playful essence of Pat and his companions and clearly depict the actions described in the text, another useful tool for readers who need help deciphering the words. Readers who have exhausted the Elephant and Piggie oeuvre may find the book an enjoyable alternative, though the extremely simple text may limit the rereading potential.
A simple but engaging and charming work.Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 9798218084943
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Bowker Identifier Services
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Sweet, reassuring fun—and a story to fully embrace.
A slug longs for a hug and finds it unexpectedly.
Doug the slug would really like a hug and plods on, seeking affection. But a caterpillar, bug, spider, and worm want no part of hugging a slug. They are just not feeling it (might they feel sluggish?), voicing their disdain in no uncertain terms with expressions like, “Grimy, slippy!” and “Squelchy, slimy!” What’s a slug to do? Undeterred, Doug keeps trying. He meets Gail, a snail with crimson lipstick and hip, red glasses; she happens to be as grimy and squelchy as he is, so he figures she is the hugger of his dreams. The two embark upon a madcap romantic courtship. Alas, Gail also draws the (slimy) line at hugging Doug. Finally, mournful Doug meets the best hugger and the true love of his life, proving there’s someone for everyone. This charmer will have readers rooting for Doug (and perhaps even wanting to hug him). Expressed in simple, jaunty verses that read and scan smoothly, the brief tale revolves around words that mainly rhyme with Doug and slug. Given that the story stretches vocabulary so well with regard to rhyming words, children can be challenged after a read-aloud session to offer up words that rhyme with slug and snail. The colorful and humorous illustrations are lively and cheerful; googly-eyed Doug is, like the other characters, entertaining and expressive. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Sweet, reassuring fun—and a story to fully embrace. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Dec. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-66590-046-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
There’s nothing especially new here, but the good-natured celebration of books, reading, and libraries will charm fellow...
A porcine hoarder of books learns to read—and to share.
The Book Hog’s obsession is clear from the start. Short declarative sentences describe his enthusiasm (“The Book Hog loved books”), catalog the things he likes about the printed page, and eventually reveal his embarrassing secret (“He didn’t know how to read”). While the text is straightforward, plenty of amusing visual details will entertain young listeners. A picture of the Book Hog thumbing through a book while seated on the toilet should induce some giggles. The allusive name of a local bookshop (“Wilbur’s”) as well as the covers of a variety of familiar and much-loved books (including some of the author’s own) offer plenty to pore over. And the fact that the titles become legible only after our hero learns to read is a particularly nice touch. A combination of vignettes, single-page illustrations and double-page spreads that feature Pizzoli’s characteristic style—heavy black outlines, a limited palette of mostly salmon and mint green, and simple shapes—move the plot along briskly. Librarians will appreciate the positive portrayal of Miss Olive, an elephant who welcomes the Book Hog warmly to storytime, though it’s unlikely most will be able to match her superlative level of service.
There’s nothing especially new here, but the good-natured celebration of books, reading, and libraries will charm fellow bibliophiles, and the author’s fans will enjoy making another anthropomorphic animal friend. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-03689-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
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