Provides some fun and some learning, but a bland effort overall.
Seek and you will find—or will you?
Marshland animals decide to play hide-and-seek and designate Turtle as “it.” They hide while Turtle counts to 10 slowly (and incorrectly). Heron doesn’t know where to hide and tries a few places, only to discover that someone’s already ensconced there. Each time, Heron asks, “Is this a good spot?” only to be told, “No, this is my spot!” The animals also explain why their spot is ideal: “I blend right in,” or “I like to play in the mud.” Observant readers will notice that each lurking animal resembles its hiding place. Eventually, Heron finds a place that seems perfect—just as Turtle finishes counting and begins seeking her friends. Initially, they can’t be found, but then Turtle locates them, except Heron. Finally, Heron emerges from the marsh grasses to greet the others. Originally published in Belgium, this brief, thin story should appeal to fans of the popular game; it also offers a simple lesson in camouflage and may spark conversations about the topic. A few quibbles: Most of the animals aren’t named until later in the story, so readers can’t identify them from the outset. Realistic-looking animal portrayals would have served the story much better, especially in the manatee’s case; its very inexact, odd-looking depiction isn’t consistent. Some explanatory backmatter on the featured animals and information about their “hiding places” also would have been helpful.
Provides some fun and some learning, but a bland effort overall. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 23, 2024
ISBN: 9781605378329
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clavis
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors.
A confused squirrel overreacts to the falling autumn leaves.
Relaxing on a tree branch, Squirrel admires the red, gold, and orange leaves. Suddenly Squirrel screams, “One of my leaves is…MISSING!” Searching for the leaf, Squirrel tells Bird, “Someone stole my leaf!” Spying Mouse sailing in a leaf boat, Squirrel asks if Mouse stole the leaf. Mouse calmly replies in the negative. Bird reminds Squirrel it’s “perfectly normal to lose a leaf or two at this time of year.” Next morning Squirrel panics again, shrieking, “MORE LEAVES HAVE BEEN STOLEN!” Noticing Woodpecker arranging colorful leaves, Squirrel queries, “Are those my leaves?” Woodpecker tells Squirrel, “No.” Again, Bird assures Squirrel that no one’s taking the leaves and that the same thing happened last year, then encourages Squirrel to relax. Too wired to relax despite some yoga and a bath, the next day Squirrel cries “DISASTER” at the sight of bare branches. Frantic now, Squirrel becomes suspicious upon discovering Bird decorating with multicolored leaves. Is Bird the culprit? In response, Bird shows Squirrel the real Leaf Thief: the wind. Squirrel’s wildly dramatic, misguided, and hyperpossessive reaction to a routine seasonal event becomes a rib-tickling farce through clever use of varying type sizes and weights emphasizing his absurd verbal pronouncements as well as exaggerated, comic facial expressions and body language. Bold colors, arresting perspectives, and intense close-ups enhance Squirrel’s histrionics. Endnotes explain the science behind the phenomenon.
A hilarious autumnal comedy of errors. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-3520-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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BOOK REVIEW
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