Everyone knows what’s supposed to happen when a princess kisses a frog, but Bonning suggests a subtler alternative in this breezy British import. Snog things that a birthday kiss would be just the ticket, but Cow, Sheep, Snake, and even Pig—“ ‘Oh Hoggy Hog Hog, give this Froggy Frog Frog a snoggy snog snog.’ ‘What! Snort! I’ll never kiss your sort,’ ”—refuse to oblige. Along comes a real princess, though, who knows the benefits of frog-kissing, or so she thinks. Beardshaw illustrates Snog’s quest for a snog in sunny, widely brushed outdoor scenes featuring a frog in striped swimwear and a young benefactor whose hair and sneakers are the same bright orange. In the end, the still-froggy Snog announces that he may not look like a prince, but he feels like one—and even the princess looks happy for him. Younger readers on this side of the pond may not get the title’s pun at first, but by the end will be lining up for snogs of their own. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-7641-5824-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barron's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An object lesson in the value of patience as well as a droll introduction to meta-what-now.
Not every caterpillar gets the memo—or is, for that matter, temperamentally suited to spending two weeks immobilized in a chrysalis.
Seeing everyone headed up a tree (“We’re going to metamorphosize.” “Meta-WHAT-now?”) a clueless caterpillar hurries to follow. Despite the promise of a dazzling transformation, every step in the natural process, from spinning a chrysalis on, is an occasion for histrionic dismay (“It’s STILL Day 1?” “This is taking FOR-EV-ER!”). Gradually, though, the pop-eyed pupa’s kvetching quiets, the moans and groans turn to meditation (“Be one with the chrysalis”), and two weeks later: “I did it! I’m a BUTTERFLY!” Burach chronicles this miracle of nature in cartoon scenes as loud as the rapid patter, culminating in a migratory flight of butterflies and a final “ARE WE THERE YET?!” that hints at a character transformation that’s perhaps less complete than the physical one. It won’t be just adults chuckling at the interactions between the title character and its patiently pupating companions; all the characters speak in dialogue balloons, the protagonist’s green with purple text to match its chrysalis.
An object lesson in the value of patience as well as a droll introduction to meta-what-now. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-28941-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
The goose is all that’s serious here…and that not for long.
Bet you can’t make this goose smile, no matter how hard you try.
TV personality Kimmel’s first foray into picture books presents a feathered grump with a scowl that is proof against any kind of foolery: Try putting a chicken on her head, dressing her as a moose, or even trucking in a snail pizza—this goose won’t crack. Breaking now and again into verse, he challenges readers to give it a try in a foil mirror: “Cluck like a chicken / moo like a cow / be doofy, be goofy / any way you know how”—and sure enough, eventually a grin bursts out to replace the grimace despite a multipage struggle to hold it in, and off prances the goose in a pair of (gender-bending) tighty whities. Yes, she’s become “a SILLY goose (thanks to you),” the narrator proclaims, and what’s more, “YOU are a silly kid.” A hand-lettered narrative in block printing big enough to take up most of the space accompanies thick-lined cartoon views of a goosey glare that dares readers to crank up the volume, and the last page turn reveals a final tweak that may add a few grown-up voices to the younger chorus of giggles.
The goose is all that’s serious here…and that not for long. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-70775-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
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