Amiable but with no surprises, this story about finding friendship makes for a pleasant if not particularly memorable...
A picture book about finding friends.
A “small blue whale…in a silver sea” is “wishing, wanting, waiting for a friend.” As the sun rises, the whale feels the warmth and wonders if this is what friendship feels like. A pink cloud in the sky sprinkles drops of water on him, causing the whale to wonder if this is what friendship tastes like. Other senses are engaged as the story progresses. Ferry’s smooth text glistens with alliteration and circularity, but the sweet story is just that—one-note sweet. In both illustrations and text, the whale is always pleasant, even when, due to an ill-considered decision (but done in the name of friendship), he ends up stuck on the ice until a troupe of shovel-wielding penguins rescues him. The not-unexpected ending neatly affirms that the whale has found friends and that it was worth the wait. Mundorff’s illustrations, looking somewhat like Eric Carle’s tissue-paper collages, have a serene feel, and her color palette stays on the cool side, so the overall effect is tranquil but rather detached. Readers may wish for a bit more personality in either the text or the illustrations—a little salt to contrast all that sweetness. Then again, maybe sweet these days is just fine too.
Amiable but with no surprises, this story about finding friendship makes for a pleasant if not particularly memorable read-aloud. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1337-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
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