A book that forgoes the basics of comprehension in pursuit of purposeful misdirection.
A tale of foxes and rabbit goes for a twist ending.
Farmer foxes Rusty and Rojo believe the time has come to attend to their “prizewinning… / RABBIT STEW!” They pluck delicious vegetables from the ground and off the vines, scrounge for fruits in the bushes, and all the while are viewed apprehensively by the local rabbit family. After all the ingredients are picked, it’s time for the pièce de résistance, a “round…white… / bowl… / for our favorite Rabbit, Stew.” It turns out that Stew is the name of the foxes’ prizewinning rabbit, so he and his family are treated to a feast of healthy treats. It’s a cute-enough idea, but the payoff loses much in the delivery. Is the book implying that the foxes own the rabbits and win prizes at rabbit shows with them? If so, why do the bunnies look terrified out of their gourds for 95 percent of the book? The confusing storytelling is rivaled only by the art. Readers see that the rabbits have a home directly next to (and beneath) the foxes, yet they appear fearful of their neighbors from Page 5 onward. And little wonder! Rusty handles a tomato and calls it “plump, yet firm,” while Rojo hugs a rabbit and says, “Perfectly so.” No doubt readers will wonder why the scared bunnies don’t hop along to greener, less saliva-spackled pastures.
A book that forgoes the basics of comprehension in pursuit of purposeful misdirection. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62979-583-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
A snug, funny round of hijinks by low dogs.
Housebound wiener dogs Augie and Perry get up to no good when left on their own.
Posing his pooches on four legs or, anthropomorphically, two (or even, at the beginning, as busts on stands), Falconer takes a break from his long-running Olivia series to proffer as winsome a doggy duo as ever was. Drawn with great and often hilariously expressive precision—and frequently placed on entirely blank backgrounds to call attention to the fact—the two dachshunds appear at first glance as dignified as “little Roman emperors.” Appearances can be deceiving, though: “Most of the time Augie looked more serious. Perry was all over the place.” As their human family, never seen (except once as light-skinned hands), is gone all day at work or school, the dogs look for ways to relieve their boredom…first by tussling over a ball, then by figuring out how to open the back door to an exciting world of flowers to water, a pool to splash in, and, best of all, a lawn to excavate (“Dachshunds love to dig”). The sound of a car pulling in may touch off some momentary panic (“We’re going to get in TROUBLE, Augie!”), but dachshunds are also smart enough to run back inside and exude innocence convincingly enough to earn treats rather than punishment. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A snug, funny round of hijinks by low dogs. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: June 28, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-295447-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Michael di Capua/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
This Easter message is that friends are golden.
Perennial favorite Bad Kitty returns in search of a prize.
Bad Kitty and her friends are going on an egg hunt, but besides the usual dyed eggs, a golden egg holding “the best thing ever” is waiting to be found. Bad Kitty imagines that it will offer a host of tangible goodies, picturing catnip, fish, treats, a ball of yarn, etc. Bad Kitty’s strategy is not clever: In quest of the gold, she passes up all the colored eggs, which are of course gathered by her friends Stinky Kitty, Chatty Kitty, Big Kitty, and Puppy. Soon those eggs are all gone, and the “golden” one she finally pounces on turns out to be the curved back of Puppy—in whose mouth she now sees the golden goal. Surprisingly, her friends are not eating candy from their eggs. When opened, each contains a friend-related challenge, like “write a story about your friend,” or “give a present to your friend.” It’s Puppy who gets that one and who, in response, gives Bad Kitty the golden egg. It turns out to have a special message inside from all her friends. Large, serif type will help developing readers. The illustrations are in the established goofy Bad Kitty cartoon style, with exaggerated facial expressions and frenetic, easy-to-read body language supporting the simple text. Easter means colored eggs only here: no mention of religion.
This Easter message is that friends are golden. (suggested friend challenges for Easter eggs) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Dec. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9781250884770
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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