This favorite song, written in the 1950s, has been a kid-pleaser for generations, thanks to such song stylists as Danny Kaye, Burl Ives, and more recently, Raffi. It comes as no surprise, then, to find that the real news is the gorgeous new illustrations offered in an oversized format by the creator of other brightly appealing books such as What’s That Sound, Woolly Bear? (1996). Luscious collages in shimmery blues and greens, the lovely pink of the lily pad and the brilliant red of the snake fill the pages. Watercolor washes applied to textured or colored paper create a three-dimensional effect that has one almost reaching out to stroke the duck’s feathers. Set out as a playlet, the actors are introduced on the title page, and then the curtain opens. Readers follow the action and can sing along with the guitar-strumming river-rat narrator. They can quack along with the little white duck, glug with the little green frog (not so little here), buzz with the little black bug or hiss with the little red snake, the villain of the piece. This is a truly spectacular undertaking that deserves a wide audience. Bravo. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-316-03227-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2000
This biblical tale is filled with wonder, hope, and beauty.
Miriam is pivotal in the story of Moses and the Exodus.
A 7-year-old girl narrates the details of the day that she heeds “God’s voice,” places her baby brother in a basket, sets him adrift in the Nile River to save him from “Pharoah’s men,” and then watches as Pharoah’s daughter rescues him. That baby boy will grow up to be Moses, and his sister is the prophet Miriam. In her author’s note, Yolen explains that she has taken this story from Exodus and from the Midrash, tales that interpret the Torah. Miriam’s story is interwoven with miracles associated with water, ranging from that basket on the Nile to the parting of the Red Sea and the life-giving water flowing from a rock that sustains the Jews wandering in the desert, but there are relatively few children’s books that place her at their center. Many celebrants of the Passover Seder sing a song honoring Miriam and will welcome a book that celebrates her childhood. It is Le’s illustrations that truly shine, however. The vibrant blues and oranges reflect both calm and swirling waters dotted with a multitude of plant life. Elegant storks wade in the water as hippos and crocodiles swim nearby.
This biblical tale is filled with wonder, hope, and beauty. (Picture book/religion. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5415-4400-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
Innocuous adventuring on the smallest of scales.
The Mouse and the Motorcycle (1965) upgrades to The Mice and the Rolls-Royce.
In Windsor Castle there sits a “dollhouse like no other,” replete with working plumbing, electricity, and even a full library of real, tiny books. Called Queen Mary’s Dollhouse, it also plays host to the Whiskers family, a clan of mice that has maintained the house for generations. Henry Whiskers and his cousin Jeremy get up to the usual high jinks young mice get up to, but when Henry’s little sister Isabel goes missing at the same time that the humans decide to clean the house up, the usually bookish big brother goes on the adventure of his life. Now Henry is driving cars, avoiding cats, escaping rats, and all before the upcoming mouse Masquerade. Like an extended version of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Two Bad Mice (1904), Priebe keeps this short chapter book constantly moving, with Duncan’s peppy art a cute capper. Oddly, the dollhouse itself plays only the smallest of roles in this story, and no factual information on the real Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House is included at the tale’s end (an opportunity lost).
Innocuous adventuring on the smallest of scales. (Fantasy. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6575-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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