bookshelf

TOBY, WHO ARE YOU?

Name: TOBY, WHO ARE YOU?
Author: William Steig
ISBN: 0-06-000705-2

by William Steig & illustrated by Teryl Euvremer ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2004

bookshelf

The late Steig follows Toby, Where Are You? (1997) and Toby, What Are You? (2000) with similarly imagination-stretching family interaction. Out for a picnic, and with his indulgent parents once again playing along, Toby impersonates a bat and a bull, a chameleon, an owl, and other creatures. Euvremer’s fuzzy-edged, low-contrast scenes of a trio of smiling, clothed coatimundis in woodsy settings exude a laid-back coziness that seems at odds with the text’s characteristically trenchant tone—“ ‘Who is that now, slithering out of your basket?’ wonders Toby’s father. ‘Help!’ screams his mother. ‘I think that’s a cobra!’ The creature hisses, spits and snarls”—but the dissonance rescues the episode from being just a remake of Louis Slobodkin’s Magic Michael (1944) and its descendants. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: June 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-06-000705-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
WHEN EVERYBODY WORE A HAT
by William Steig & illustrated by William Steig

- BOOK REVIEW
POTCH & POLLY
by William Steig & illustrated by Jon Agee

- BOOK REVIEW
WHICH WOULD YOU RATHER BE?
by William Steig & illustrated by Barry Bliss

bookshelf

WHERE DO FROGS COME FROM?

by Alex Vern & illustrated by Alex Vern ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2001

bookshelf

The lifecycle of the frog is succinctly summarized in this easy reader for children reading at the late first-grade level. In just one or two sentences per page, Vern details the amazing metamorphosis of the frog from egg to tadpole to adult, even injecting a little humor despite the tight word count. (“Watch out fly! Mmmm!) Large, full-color photographs on white backgrounds clearly illustrate each phase of development. Without any mention of laying eggs or fertilization, the title might be a bit misleading, but the development from black dot egg to full-grown frog is fascinating. A simple chart of the three main lifecycle steps is also included. Lifecycles are part of the standard curriculum in the early elementary grades, and this will be a welcome addition to school and public libraries, both for its informational value and as an easy reader. (Nonfiction/easy reader. 5-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-15-216304-2

Page Count: 20

Publisher: Green Light/Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

bookshelf

FLY GUY PRESENTS: SHARKS

From the Fly Guy series

by Tedd Arnold ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2013

A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity.

bookshelf

Buzz and his buzzy buddy open a spinoff series of nonfiction early readers with an aquarium visit.

Buzz: “Like other fish, sharks breathe through gills.” Fly Guy: “GILLZZ.” Thus do the two pop-eyed cartoon tour guides squire readers past a plethora of cramped but carefully labeled color photos depicting dozens of kinds of sharks in watery settings, along with close-ups of skin, teeth and other anatomical features. In the bite-sized blocks of narrative text, challenging vocabulary words like “carnivores” and “luminescence” come with pronunciation guides and lucid in-context definitions. Despite all the flashes of dentifrice and references to prey and smelling blood in the water, there is no actual gore or chowing down on display. Sharks are “so cool!” proclaims Buzz at last, striding out of the gift shop. “I can’t wait for our next field trip!” (That will be Fly Guy Presents: Space, scheduled for September 2013.)

A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity. (Informational easy reader. 5-7)