Dazzling.
This quiet book explores what happens in a forest as day slips into night.
Under a full moon, the landscape glows, exposing various night creatures and their activities. The air above resounds with the hooting of owls and the whirring of bats. On the ground, other creatures stir. A porcupine “scoots between roots.” Others prowl through the shadows, such as a fox, a deer, and mice. Others make no sounds at all, like the fireflies that fill the night with glowing lights. Jackson’s sparse but sensory text entices readers’ imaginations while sparking their curiosity. Its rich onomatopoeia adds to the story’s enjoyment, while its quiet pace creates a soothing bedtime story for young readers. Tillotson’s mottled illustrations that sneakily play with positive and negative space complement the text. Digitally worked watercolors hold on to the fading light, shapes morphing from page to page so that leaves become eyes; translucent print in varying typefaces and fonts floats on the page, in motion with the forest creatures. Readers will relish finding the veiled creatures in the darkening woods—both those that are mentioned on the pages and those that are not. In addition to fostering observational skills in young children, this book could also tie in well with primary grade environmental curricula.
Dazzling. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-1571-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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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