Remember—nice dogs find a good home and bumbling burglars find the big house.
Bob, a dog looking for a life on the straight and narrow, stumbles on a solution without being unfaithful to his no-good burglar of an owner.
Bob and Rob are crooks: Rob as that’s his stock in trade, and Bob as he is Rob’s dog, and Bob’s mother told him to always be faithful to his owner—no matter what. Outside of being an accomplice in crime, Bob’s a good pooch: He likes to iron clothes and help old ladies across the street. Rob is a lousy crook, though: He gets distracted by mothballed dresses, chamber pots and dust brooms. Then they see through a window the haul of a lifetime: hundreds of wrapped presents. But when they get the loot home, it turns out to be a bunch of toys for children. Bob is crestfallen. Steal a bunch of kids’ presents? That’s low. Bob contrives to return the goodies and turns into a present himself when the kids catch him returning the gifts. Rob continues his life of crime, which lasts a day or two without Bob’s help. There’s not much for readers to chew on here that they haven’t heard a hundred times (crime doesn’t pay, being good is its own reward). Still, Pickford’s artwork is a treat, with Rob in his pink slippers and Bob with his binoculars, both as two-dimensional as possible—as if Bob has taken a good, hot iron to them—and with lots of crooked linework, which befits a couple crooks (or at least one real crook).
Remember—nice dogs find a good home and bumbling burglars find the big house. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-84780-343-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, if oft-told, story.
A plush toy rabbit bonds with a boy and watches him grow into adulthood.
The boy receives the blue bunny for his birthday and immediately becomes attached to it. Unbeknownst to him, the ungendered bunny is sentient; it engages in dialogue with fellow toys, giving readers insight into its thoughts. The bunny's goal is to have grand adventures when the boy grows up and no longer needs its company. The boy spends many years playing imaginatively with the bunny, holding it close during both joyous and sorrowful times and taking it along on family trips. As a young man, he marries, starts a family, and hands over the beloved toy to his toddler-aged child in a crib. The bunny's epiphany—that he does not need to wait for great adventures since all his dreams have already come true in the boy's company—is explicitly stated in the lengthy text, which is in many ways similar to The Velveteen Rabbit (1922). The illustrations, which look hand-painted but were digitally created, are moderately sentimental with an impressionistic dreaminess (one illustration even includes a bunny-shaped cloud in the sky) and a warm glow throughout. The depiction of a teenage male openly displaying his emotions—hugging his beloved childhood toy for example—is refreshing. All human characters present as White expect for one of the boy’s friends who is Black.
A sweet, if oft-told, story. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72825-448-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn.
A young owl achieves his grand ambition.
Owl, an adorably earnest and gallant little owlet, dreams of being a knight. He imagines himself defeating dragons and winning favor far and wide through his brave exploits. When a record number of knights go missing, Owl applies to Knight School and is surprisingly accepted. He is much smaller than the other knights-in-training, struggles to wield weapons, and has “a habit of nodding off during the day.” Nevertheless, he graduates and is assigned to the Knight Night Watch. While patrolling the castle walls one night, a hungry dragon shows up and Owl must use his wits to avoid meeting a terrible end. The result is both humorous and heartwarming, offering an affirmation of courage and clear thinking no matter one’s size…and demonstrating the power of a midnight snack. The story never directly addresses the question of the missing knights, but it is hinted that they became the dragon’s fodder, leaving readers to question Owl’s decision to befriend the beast. Humor is supplied by the characters’ facial expressions and accented by the fact that Owl is the only animal in his order of big, burly human knights. Denise’s accomplished digital illustrations—many of which are full bleeds—often use a warm sepia palette that evokes a feeling of antiquity, and some spreads feature a pleasing play of chiaroscuro that creates suspense and drama.
A charming blend of whimsy and medieval heroism highlighting the triumph of brains over brawn. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-31062-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
© Copyright 2025 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.
