A wonderfully illustrated and charming friendship tale that features unusual animals.
A tarsier finds a partner with the help of some pals in this picture book.
Every night, Tarsie unsuccessfully sings a quiet, melancholy song, hoping to attract a love interest. Bear, a cuscus, invites the primate to walk through the forest and sing a more uplifting tune. They encounter animals who sing lyrics that describe themselves. For instance, the crested macaque sings: “I…eat ripe fruit. Sometimes I get it on my face. But I still look quite cute.” Tarsie resumes his nighttime singing but is discouraged by the lack of response. The animals offer tips to help him sing louder and bolder, including the hornbill, who recommends flapping his arms to elevate his sound. Tarsie implements the instructions and finally receives a response from a tarsier who sings: “I’d love to meet and see you soon.” The animals rejoice. Tarsie’s mate joins “their singing gang,” and their love grows “with every song.” These days, the animals happily “love and sing and teach” their own partners and families. Readers will enjoy this sweet story that emphasizes making friends, helping pals, and learning from others. Tatchell skillfully introduces readers to less commonly depicted animals (including endangered and vulnerable species) in an informative but amusing way. Sulima’s delightful full-color illustrations offer animated portrayals of the animals in their natural habitat. Detailed forest backdrops feature large trees, greenery, vivid skies, and striking sunsets. Appealing accents include floating music notes as the animals sing.
A wonderfully illustrated and charming friendship tale that features unusual animals.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-77728-684-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Fielding House Press Ltd
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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