This will have young children thinking of their own comparisons for snow.
Two young friends have an adventure while learning what snow is.
Though it’s not necessarily sustained, the poetic opening sets the tone for the text: “Fox and Hare were born in the spring, / grew up in the summer, / and were the best of friends by autumn.” One day, Bird drops down and tells the friends they’ll soon be able to play in “this thing called snow,” but the two don’t know what that is. They set out to query Bear, Caribou, Salmon, and Goose. Each compares snow to something they already know: “Snow is white like your fur,” Bear tells them, or “fluffy like your tails,” according to Salmon. The day passes, and darkness lowers, and they are no closer to an answer or to home, so they curl up together…while gentle flakes fall around them. Bear and Caribou, who began to fear the friends were lost, discover them in the morning, and Fox and Hare delight in the snow as they lead the larger animals back home. Zommer’s collagelike illustrations are full of marvelous textures and details in the rich and realistic colors of nature, and the wildlife depicted is more lifelike than cartoon. The one oddity is that Zommer depicts both eyes of each animal even in profile, leading to some peculiar appearances, especially for Goose and Salmon. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
This will have young children thinking of their own comparisons for snow. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-37788-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Aug. 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Young readers will be “antsy” to join the hero on her satisfying escapade.
An ant explores her world.
Addie Ant’s ready for adventure. Despite some trepidation about leaving the Tomato Bed, where she lives with her aunt, she plucks up her courage and ventures forth across the garden to the far side of the shed. On her journey, she meets her pal Lewis Ladybug, who greets her warmly, points the way, and offers sage advice. When Addie arrives at her destination, she’s welcomed by lovely Beatrix Butterfly and enjoys an “ant-tastic” helping of watermelon. Beatrix also provides Addie with take-home treats and a map for the “Cricket Express,” which will take her straight home. Arriving at the terminal, Addie’s delighted to meet another friend, Cleo Cricket, whose carriage service returns Addie home in “two hops.” After eating a warm tomato soup dinner, Addie falls asleep and dreams of future exploits. Adorable though not terribly original, this story brims with sensuous pleasures, both textual and visual. Kids who declare that they dislike fruits or veggies may find their mouths watering at the mentions and sights of luscious tomatoes, peas, beans, watermelons, berries, and other foodstuffs; insect-averse readers may likewise think differently after encountering these convivial, wide-eyed characters. And those flowers and herbs everywhere! The highlights are the colors that burst from the pages. Addie’s an endearing, empowering character who reassures children they’ll be able to take those first independent steps successfully.
Young readers will be “antsy” to join the hero on her satisfying escapade. (author’s note about ants) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781797228914
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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