When Buzz and his parents take a road trip, pet-of-sorts Fly Guy stows away in the trunk. Rather than getting lost, as Dad fears, the insect displays effortless adaptive skills. He surfs at the beach, smooches a Mona Lisa look-alike at the art museum and rides the roller coaster at the fun park, finding snacks aplenty in trashcans en route. When Dad loses the way home, Fly Guy rises to the rescue, using “his super fly eyes to spy their house.” Arnold delivers another engaging romp that combines a spare but never stilted text and child-appealing pictures (wherein even the figures in museum paintings are bug-eyed). From the very shiny cover’s dizzying perspective to the heroic conclusion, this fifth outing’s a shoo-in for kids who prefer their beginning readers funny and action-packed. (Early reader. 4-7)
Pub Date: May 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-545-00722-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet and far-from-cloying ode to love.
A mysterious love letter brightens the lives of three forest animals.
Appealing mixed-media illustrations made of ink, gouache, brush marker, and colored pencil combine with a timely message that one kind act can start a chain reaction of kindness. When Hedgehog, Bunny, and Squirrel stumble in turn upon a formally composed love letter, each finds their life improved: Squirrel is less anxious, Bunny spreads goodwill through helpfulness, and Hedgehog is unusually cheerful. As the friends converge to try to discover who sent the letter, the real author appears in a (rather) convenient turn: a mouse who wrote an ode to the moon. Though disappointed that the letter was never meant for them, the friends reflect that the letter still made the world a happier place, making it a “wonderful mix-up.” Since there’s a lot of plot to follow, the book will best serve more-observant readers who are able to piece the narrative cleanly, but those older readers may also better appreciate the special little touches, such as the letter’s enticing, old-fashioned typewriter-style look, vignettes that capture small moments, or the subdued color palette that lends an elegant air. Drawn with minimalist, scribbly lines, the creatures achieve an invigorating balance between charming and spontaneous, with smudged lines that hint at layers of fur and simple, dotted facial expressions.
A sweet and far-from-cloying ode to love. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-274157-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
And the littlest ones will demand to know where the heck that rabbit went.
Klassen’s coy effort combines spare illustration, simple, repetitive text and a “payback’s a bear” plot.
A somber, sepia-toned bear longs for his missing hat and questions a series of forest animals about its whereabouts. While everyone denies seeing it, a rabbit (sporting, readers will note, a pointy red chapeau) protests a bit too indignantly. Ten pages on, as the bear describes his hat for a solicitous deer, realization hits: “I HAVE SEEN MY HAT.” The accompanying illustration shows the indignant bear suffused in the page’s angry red. There’s the subsequent dash and confrontation, followed by bear in hat and rabbit—well, nowhere to be seen. Klassen’s ink-and-digital creatures, similarly almond-eyed and mouth-less, appear stiff and minimalist against creamy white space. Foliage is suggested with a few ink strokes (though it’s quite bashed-up after rabbit goes missing). The text type, New Century Schoolbook, intentionally evokes the visually comfy, eminently readable design of 1960s children’s primers. Font colors correlate with the animals’ dialogue as well as the illustrations’ muted color palette, and the four-sentence denials (first rabbit’s, then bear’s) structurally echo each other. Indubitably hip, this will find plenty of admirers. Others might react to a certain moral vapidity.
And the littlest ones will demand to know where the heck that rabbit went. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5598-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
© 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.
