A playful and informative ode to bats.
A bat takes flight, eating its way through the sky on Halloween night.
Starting off by quoting the familiar “Trick or treat! / Smell my feet!” singsong-y childhood rhyme, the story follows in that same cadence, which works smoothly for the most part. A little bat flies out at twilight, using echolocation to find moths, flies, and other bugs to munch on. A few pages of “Bat Facts” at the conclusion of the story discuss more about what bats eat, introduce different types that live in the U.S., explain how they echolocate, and offer a nice reminder to treat them with respect. Leschnikoff’s illustrations show their young bat protagonist in shades of blue and purple with pink inside its ears and wings. The anthropomorphized eyes and facial features keep it cute, even with its teeny little fangs. The insects are carefully drawn with nice detail, and, refreshingly, the paper-wasps’ nest is inhabited by wasps rather than bees. Although there are some brief mentions of Halloween, the text concentrates on bats and bugs. The illustrations do give little nods to the holiday with pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns, and the final double-page spread features a set of adorable haunted houses and the silhouettes of trick-or-treaters beneath the full moon.
A playful and informative ode to bats. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-3329-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks eXplore
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A clever conceit but a bland execution.
In this minimalist Australian import, readers are encouraged to guess animals based on select written and visual clues.
On each recto, readers see the hindquarters of an animal, and three simple clues ask them to guess what kind of animal they may belong to. “I have long furry ears and a small nose. / I live in a burrow in the ground. / I have a white fluffy tail. / I AM A….” The splashy watercolor rear legs and tail are ambiguous enough that they may have readers second-guessing the obvious answer. Turning the page, however, readers discover both the well-defined front half of the animal and the animal’s name: “RABBIT.” Canty uses stock 19th-century animal illustrations layered with watercolor enhancements, creating a somber yet surprising tone. Two tailless animals, a frog and human readers, are included in the roster, making the “tails” referenced in the title symbolic rather than literal. Two red herrings, the image of a mouse between the clues for and image of an elephant and (inexplicably) a squirrel leading to a giraffe, fall flat, with no other cues to young readers that they are jokes. The quirky illustrations, earthy colors, and lack of exhibited enthusiasm will make this book’s audience a niche one. There is no backmatter.
A clever conceit but a bland execution. (Informational picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0033-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
A feast…at least for the eyes, and much better for the teeth.
It’s all about the colors in this board-book version of the virally popular “rainbow explosion” cake.
The cake, which stars in many online videos and slide shows, is actually all about the sprinkles, evoked here with a combination of multihued spinners or sliders and hundreds of tiny holes punched into the sturdy cover and stock. Kassem, a New York City specialist baker, recaps its creation…without specific ingredients but step by step in the simplest language: “Pour it! / Mix it! // Color it!” The images are abstract enough that the result never really looks like food, but young digerati are unlikely to care as they’re directed to choose colors for each of the six layers, pull a tab to watch them rise in the oven, then see all but the top layer hollowed out before being stacked in rainbow order (sans indigo) and finally filled with a column of sprinkles that will pour out in a climactic rush (“Surprise!”) when the finished cake, its outside likewise sprinkle encrusted, is sliced. Chavarri’s simple illustrations flash with oversaturated hues, each succeeding double-page spread being somehow brighter than the last one, until the final uncomplicated pop-up unfolds in a grand shower of confetti and sprinkles. Budding chefs may find the recipe-based approach in Lotta Niemenen’s Cook in a Book series more to their taste, but for sheer energy and dazzle, this is hard to beat.
A feast…at least for the eyes, and much better for the teeth. (Board book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3746-6
Page Count: 10
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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