Smooth prose and a suspenseful plot further improve this winning story about the rewards of perseverance.
A black Labrador dog named Alayna runs away from her family’s campsite during a thunderstorm and gives birth to four puppies in McNeill’s middle-grade novel. Alayna’s family misses her, especially Becky. When Alayna deems the puppies old enough, she and her pack attempt to find their way home. Along the way, they meet many friends, kind canines and owners, but they also encounter obstacles like storms, fog and predators. Their guardian angel, Luna—a creature of light who takes the form of a hummingbird—follows them and sends them other friendly animals and signs as they navigate a treacherous path. Meanwhile, Tessa—a lonely young girl who longs for a dog—moves into Becky’s neighborhood. Upon hearing Becky’s sad news about losing Alayna, Tessa launches a search party. Although McNeill’s debut is for kids, anyone looking for comfort and inspiration will enjoy the tale. Luna describes her world of green fields, sunny skies and endless beauty, with God watching over all—a garden variety but lovely interpretation of heaven. Luna’s role is as observer only: She follows the traveling hounds and observes their plight, but she only involves herself once. Despite the story’s strong message of faith, all the characters acknowledge that it can carry them only so far, that they must act on their own behalf with courage and determination to see their beliefs come to fruition. As Luna puts it, “testing brings great strength.” Too much intervention from their spirit guide would have prevented them from discovering “how brave they can be and how much they love each other.” Tessa spearheads the search for the missing black Lab, but otherwise seems superfluous. Black-and-white illustrations add a graceful touch. The story’s conclusion seems foregone, but enough trials await the characters to keep readers invested.
Smooth prose and a suspenseful plot further improve this winning story about the rewards of perseverance.Pub Date: March 5, 2012
ISBN: 978-1469924755
Page Count: 118
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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