Whether children are listening in a group or as individuals at home, they will enjoy this book, but the science learning is...
What will young readers encounter in the peaceful landscape of this picture book?
Lush, full-bleed double-page spreads in a predominantly blue, green, and brown palette, executed in a soft mix of media that includes acrylics, colored pencils, and collage, accompany simple poetic text with an abcb rhyme scheme. The words are quiet, meant to convey safety and security. Many of the titular “home builders” appear in the first spread: Tortoises inch along a path, red foxes peek out from hiding, a deer grazes in the background, beavers cavort in the water, a great horned owl snoozes in a tree. The rest—moles, honeybees, and eagles—arrive after the page turn. Bajaj structures her book with questions. “Do you see the homes?” The answer is simple: “Beds in leaf piles, / Dens snug and warm, // Lodges on ponds, / Shelter from storms. // Burrows with rooms, / Beehives and nests, / Each of these homes / Soon will be blessed.” (Some may wonder at the word “blessed,” but it seems to owe its use more to the rhyme scheme than underlying religiosity.) Babies arrive and, satisfyingly, learn to “work and play.” Throughout, Mulazzani prioritizes intimacy over accurate scale or reproduction of animal architecture, offering lovely but sometimes confusing compositions.
Whether children are listening in a group or as individuals at home, they will enjoy this book, but the science learning is limited. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-399-16685-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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