Amusing, colorful illustrations, interesting information, and a high-interest theme enliven a pedestrian text.
Repetitive verses count down from five to none as playful mermaids each chase after a different sea creature in the five named bodies that make up the global ocean.
The book starts: “Five little mermaids / Went swimming in the sea / to the Atlantic Ocean / To see what they could see. / Maria joined a school of fish / And swam away carefree. Whoosh! / Now there were….” Maria has curly brown hair and freckles and light skin. Makaiya has long brown hair and light brown skin and meets a turtle in the Indian Ocean. Ming, with straight black hair and what are meant to be Asian features, “high-fived a penguin” in the Southern Ocean. Marley, with bright curly red hair, a ruddy complexion, and big red glasses, follows a giant squid in the Pacific Ocean. Finally, Maya, with dark brown skin and dark hair in Afro puffs, swims after an orange lion’s mane jellyfish, a showy species surprisingly found in the Arctic Ocean. After a double-page spread that depicts an underwater castle, coral, sea anemones, fish, and other sea creatures, a page turn reveals all kinds of merfolk having a party to welcome the five after their travels. Coral-reef–bright illustrations are vivid and fanciful, with comical mermaids cavorting in the sea, and varied compositions help sustain interest, with the giant squid starring in one of the most dramatic spreads. Following the story, three spreads detail information about the folklore of merpeople, the oceans (with generalized location maps), and the five creatures highlighted and the depths to which they can swim. The music for the undistinguished verses is included, as is a CD with audio and video (not seen).
Amusing, colorful illustrations, interesting information, and a high-interest theme enliven a pedestrian text. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-78285-831-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts.
Ohtani, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, teams up with Blank and Liem to tell the story of how his dog, Decoy, threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
It’s a big day! Decoy leaps “off the bed. Then back onto the bed. Then off the bed.” The enthusiastic pup heads outside to practice with his lucky baseball but is quickly distracted by squirrels (“we’ll play later!”), airplanes (“flyin’ high!”), and flowers (“smell ya soon!”). Dog and pitcher then head to the ballpark. In the locker room, Decoy high-paws Shohei’s teammates. It’s nearly time! But as Shohei prepares to warm up, Decoy realizes that he’s forgotten something important: his lucky ball. Without it, there will be “no championships, no parades, and no hot dogs!” Back home he goes, returning just in time. With Shohei at the plate, Decoy runs from the mound to his owner, rolling the ball into Shohei’s mitt for a “Striiiiike!” Related from a dog’s point of view, Ohtani and Blank’s energetic text lends the tale a sense of urgency and suspense. Liem’s illustrations capture the excitement of the first day of baseball season and the joys of locker room camaraderie, as well as Shohei and Decoy’s mutual affection—even when the ball is drenched in slobber, Shohei’s love for his pet shines through, and clearly, Decoy is focused when it matters.
A charming tale of an athlete who may not steal any bases but who will certainly steal readers’ hearts. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9780063460775
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor
Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.
The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
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