A charming bird’s-eye view of one bird’s rescue and rehabilitation.
An orphaned hummingbird tells his story.
In this addition to a shelf full of successful invitations to wonder at the natural world, Montgomery presents a hummingbird’s life from the bird’s perspective. She bases her account on the lives of two real-life Allen’s hummingbirds, raised by an experienced rehabilitator. An orphaned nestling describes how a rescuer (“The Voice”) nurtured him and his sister until they were grown. He describes learning to feed himself nectar and catch fruit flies and moving from perching to actual flying—hovering and flying backward and even upside down! “No other bird can do that,” he brags. In the fall, the two birds journey south to Mexico, returning to California in December to raise another generation. Grown hummingbirds, he exults, “rule the sky.” The writer has chosen details that are accurate, appropriate, and appealing for the audience. One moment may be confusing for young readers; soon after hatching, the avian narrator says that “every twenty minutes, we wait for the breeze. Food!” It isn’t clear from the text that the nestlings are reacting to the breeze from the mother’s flapping wings, though on the next spread, we see the shadowy face of the rehabilitator blowing on their basket. While adults may need to add some context, overall, it’s an enticing, enlightening tale, featuring gloriously detailed illustrations.
A charming bird’s-eye view of one bird’s rescue and rehabilitation. (author’s note, hummingbird highlights, helping hummingbirds) (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781665918497
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of...
An international story tackles a serious global issue with Reynolds’ characteristic visual whimsy.
Gie Gie—aka Princess Gie Gie—lives with her parents in Burkina Faso. In her kingdom under “the African sky, so wild and so close,” she can tame wild dogs with her song and make grass sway, but despite grand attempts, she can neither bring the water closer to home nor make it clean. French words such as “maintenant!” (now!) and “maman” (mother) and local color like the karite tree and shea nuts place the story in a French-speaking African country. Every morning, Gie Gie and her mother perch rings of cloth and large clay pots on their heads and walk miles to the nearest well to fetch murky, brown water. The story is inspired by model Georgie Badiel, who founded the Georgie Badiel Foundation to make clean water accessible to West Africans. The details in Reynolds’ expressive illustrations highlight the beauty of the West African landscape and of Princess Gie Gie, with her cornrowed and beaded hair, but will also help readers understand that everyone needs clean water—from the children of Burkina Faso to the children of Flint, Michigan.
Though told by two outsiders to the culture, this timely and well-crafted story will educate readers on the preciousness of potable water. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17258-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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