A sweet tale of filial devotion among inveterate invertebrates, offering important lessons in knowing and testing one’s...
Two siblings must brave the open ocean to reconnect.
In this debut collaboration between Johnston and Dove, these Californian artists devise a dramatic tale of family separation. Jellyfish brothers Spencer and Vincent have only each other as the story opens, but both are so content in their companionship that they concoct a little “ditty” to sing to one another as they “[blob] along over the foaming ocean waves”: “My brother, my brother, he’s sweet, not smelly. / I love him from down in my jelly belly.” All is well until one stormy day, when “a wave of superior magnitude” washes Vincent “into the distant distance.” Try as he may, Spencer, “a bobber of seas,” quickly realizes he must enlist help in order to have any hope of finding Vincent. Dove’s digitally manipulated watercolors gracefully capture the great variety of aqua-toned wildlife and ocean flora that pink, gumdrop-shaped Spencer summons to his aid, not the least of whom is his whale friend Horace, himself “of superior magnitude,” who gently nudges Spencer along on his mission to save Vincent from the perils of being washed ashore. Throughout this adventure, Johnston’s playful narrative employs repetition as well as highfalutin vocabulary, adding a lyrical swell to the collective rescue efforts of creatures great and small.
A sweet tale of filial devotion among inveterate invertebrates, offering important lessons in knowing and testing one’s limits. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-1208-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
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
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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