Marsh and Ward’s quick tour of the Sonoran Desert introduces readers to both local fauna (such as the horned toad, javelinas, tarantulas, Gila monsters, roadrunners, and scorpions) and flora (palo verde, ocotillo, saguaro, and prickly pear). Their observations are set to the rhythms of “Over in the Meadow,” for this is also a counting book: “Way out in the desert where the wildflowers grew/lived a mother hummingbird and her little hummers two.” Spengler has hidden each of the numbers in his full-page illustrations, which transport readers right into the thick of the environment and provide a better sense than the text of the animals and plants of this habitat. A glossary at the end of the book provides a more detailed account of the creatures. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-87358-687-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
Although far from unique, this gambol allows parents and children room to talk about seasonal weather and activities.
The delights of snow-day snow-play in a small town are enumerated in this early concept book for tots.
Snow falls overnight. In early morning, one puppy barks and two small children wake up. All three smile as they look out the window onto the snow-covered grass. Rhyming text sets a gentle pace as they venture outside: The humans pull on four boots, then the trio pulls their sled past five pine trees. In this childcentric tale (no adults in sight), they are soon joined by a diverse cast of six friends eager to sled, make snow angels, and build snowmen. (The two protagonist children have light-brown skin and straight, blue hair.) The spelled-out numbers appear in large colorful type, but numerals are not included—a lapse. Blue and white dominate the wintry palette, and the white landscape gives readers’ eyes plenty of space to focus on the items named and counted. A cozy feel is created by a series of soft, rounded shapes: puppy’s bed, children’s heads, snowballs, and pond. As the activities wind down, readers begin to count backward until the three are home again. The siblings enjoy two cups of cocoa and one puppy starts to doze.
Although far from unique, this gambol allows parents and children room to talk about seasonal weather and activities. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4586-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
A masterful consideration of perception, exploration, and, ultimately, love.
Seeming simplicity yields rich rewards in this sensory-steeped tale of adventure and friendship.
Color-sapped outlines of a wilderness kick off this tale of a dog and cat traveling together. “Two together headed home. / Cat and dog. / Bell and Bone. / For a moment. For a day. // Two together on their way.” After they peek at their reflections in the water, different artistic styles are used in the following pages to depict each animal; the dog is rendered in curved acrylics, the cat in spiky colored pencil. Sometimes the very page splits in two, one side portraying the dog’s perceptions and the other the cat’s. After a toad waylays them, they encounter a bear, a cave, and a rainstorm. As night falls, the colors grow deep and sumptuous, and home appears like a beacon. Inside, the two are now more rendered more realistically and in more detail than ever before. That is, until they go out again to prowl the night. Featuring the singsong nature of some of the best nursery rhymes, the tale reads with an effortless lilting quality, gently rhyming. Yet it’s the art that’s the showstopper here, and one wonders if the two are crispest in the home because we’re seeing them the way their human owner does. What is unquestionable is the friends’ affection for each other, the pair sticking side by side through thick and thin.
A masterful consideration of perception, exploration, and, ultimately, love. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 23, 2024
ISBN: 9781797202778
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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