by Ursula K. Le Guin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 10, 1988
A beautiful book with intriguing illustrations—but only special children are going to be amused by the wry, philosophical text in "one of the first tales ever written" by its famous author. A giraffe and a boa constrictor, friends and philosophers, live on a "runcible" island "a long way from the coast of Kansas." When the giraffe inquires, "Where does your tail begin?. . .the rest of you leave off?." the boa replies, "I am an indivisible entity to which such hypotheses are irrelevant." They set off in a small boat (Serendipity) in search of the horizon. In a storm, they bail out their boat by drinking the bilge. They are swallowed by, and make friends with, a whale (see title), who takes them to an elephant, who explains that the horizon is not a place, and does not exist; but the three friends continue to pursue it. A sinuous boa wrapped around a patient, ridiculous giraffe, both set on discovery, may be a bore or a total mystery to average readers, but will enchant a few sophisticates. The graceful, philosophical repartee is well complemented by Austin's lustrous, detailed paintings of a pristine fantasy world.
Pub Date: Nov. 10, 1988
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1988
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by Ursula K. Le Guin & illustrated by S.D. Schindler
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by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 2014
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry
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by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph
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by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph
by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2020
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
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by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart
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by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart
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by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart
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