An appealing invitation to look more closely at the world of lizards and a welcome addition to a nature shelf.
Can you behave like a lizard?
Using a series of rhythmic triplets followed by two-syllable lines, Sayre invites young readers and listeners to imagine being a lizard. “Would you lunge like a lizard? / Sponge like a lizard? / Chew bugs like a lizard? / Mouth mash?” (A final page reminds readers to “Be you!”) Once the reader-aloud masters the form, this text would be a delight for storytime, encouraging imitation. Laberis used digital media to create reasonably accurate paintings of the one (occasionally two) lizard that performs the behaviors described, often with a bit of natural background. Each animal shown is clearly labeled with its common name. These 28 lizards are described more fully in short paragraphs keyed to the behavior depicted and headed with the common name, Latin name, usual home, and length in the backmatter. Various expert herpetologists are credited with scientific review of this appealing work by nature-lover Sayre. Some pages include other animals: The opening spread shows an American badger chasing a six-lined racerunner, and the last shows a greater short-horned lizard defending itself from a coyote. These lizards come from around the world; they vary amazingly in shape, size, and habitat. Suggested further resources include both books and websites.
An appealing invitation to look more closely at the world of lizards and a welcome addition to a nature shelf. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-62979-211-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Another playful imagination-stretcher.
Markle invites children to picture themselves living in the homes of 11 wild animals.
As in previous entries in the series, McWilliam’s illustrations of a diverse cast of young people fancifully imitating wild creatures are paired with close-up photos of each animal in a like natural setting. The left side of one spread includes a photo of a black bear nestling in a cozy winter den, while the right side features an image of a human one cuddled up with a bear. On another spread, opposite a photo of honeybees tending to newly hatched offspring, a human “larva” lounges at ease in a honeycomb cell, game controller in hand, as insect attendants dish up goodies. A child with an eye patch reclines on an orb weaver spider’s web, while another wearing a head scarf constructs a castle in a subterranean chamber with help from mound-building termites. Markle adds simple remarks about each type of den, nest, or burrow and basic facts about its typical residents, then closes with a reassuring reminder to readers that they don’t have to live as animals do, because they will “always live where people live.” A select gallery of traditional homes, from igloo and yurt to mudhif, follows a final view of the young cast waving from a variety of differently styled windows.
Another playful imagination-stretcher. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781339049052
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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