Doesn’t do proper justice to the poets, the pets, or the promising premise.
Sixteen short poems by, purportedly, the pets of as many poets.
Posing cutely alongside their doll-like owners in Sonke’s painted portraits, the furry, feathered, or scaly animal authors (most of whom are white) make a winsome gallery, though Johnston Taylor squanders most of their appeal. For one, they all sound alike in the poems despite their diversity of breeds and species. Moreover, the author does provide side introductions to both poets and pets, but any opportunities for wit or wordplay will be lost, since few of the poems she cites as her models are likely to be familiar to young audiences, and she doesn’t reproduce any of them here for comparison. Even exceptions such as a “Green Eggs and Ham” pastiche (“Hello! My name is Sam-I-Am. / Here, try a piece of purple yam”) and a few lines by Edgar Allan Poe’s cat on a certain raven’s fate—“Wings so black they blend with night, wings…to quell my appetite?!”—lack verve or originality. A fox standing outside Lucille Clifton’s door sending both a literal and metaphorical message about “embracing the wild” makes a memorable finale, but readers will have to hunt for hints of inventive language among the rest. Emily Dickinson’s Newfie panting “I’m Carlo! Who are you? / Are you a canine too?” may not be bad for a dog, but human poets need to work harder.
Doesn’t do proper justice to the poets, the pets, or the promising premise. (further reading, source list) (Picture book/poetry. 6-9)Pub Date: April 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781957655659
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gnome Road Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
Charming.
An assortment of unusual characters form friendships and help each other become their best selves.
Mr. and Mrs. Tupper, who live at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, are antiquarians. Their daughter, Jillian, loves and cares for a plant named Ivy, who has “three speckles on each leaf and three letters in her name.” Toasty, the grumpy goldfish, lives in an octagonal tank and wishes he were Jillian’s favorite; when Arthur the spider arrives inside an antique desk, he brings wisdom and insight. Ollie the violet plant, Louise the bee, and Sunny the canary each arrive with their own quirks and problems to solve. Each character has a distinct personality and perspective; sometimes they clash, but more often they learn to empathize, see each other’s points of view, and work to help one another. They also help the Tupper family with bills and a burglar. The Fan brothers’ soft-edged, old-fashioned, black-and-white illustrations depict Toasty and Arthur with tiny hats; Ivy and Ollie have facial expressions on their plant pots. The Tuppers have paper-white skin and dark hair. The story comes together like a recipe: Simple ingredients combine, transform, and rise into something wonderful. In its matter-of-fact wisdom, rich vocabulary (often defined within the text), hint of magic, and empathetic nonhuman characters who solve problems in creative ways, this delightful work is reminiscent of Ferris by Kate DiCamillo, Our Friend Hedgehog by Lauren Castillo, and Ivy Lost and Found by Cynthia Lord and Stephanie Graegin.
Charming. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781665942485
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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