A good snuggle-time read when rain turns everyone grumpy.
It all happens one morning when “weather is being the peskiest pest.”
Wallow the Bear is just heading out to play when he notices a “rainstorm rolling along.” Wallow is, as his name suggests, “unfortunately, a quite gloomy fellow” who “always [gets] sad when it start[s] to rain.” So Wallow heads inside and hunkers down in his cozy cave, but his frustration rises with the water level. When he finally tries to sleep through the rest of the storm, the sounds of splashing and laughter echo in his cave. When Wallow looks out, he sees his friend, Little Cub, playing in the rain puddles, and Wallow’s frown turns into a smile. Thanks to Little Cub’s friendship and positive attitude, “Wallow always [plays] in the rain from that day on,” and, as the moral to the story, Wallow realizes that his “gloominess wasn’t because of the storm, / but because he’d never seen past the rain clouds before.” The text is set in, mostly, four-line stanzas, but, possibly due to the (uncredited) translation from the Dutch, scansion can be a challenge, and these stanzas often flow better when read as a couplet, sometimes with optional end rhymes. Cartoon illustrations feature woodland greens and browns; Wallow’s cave is realized in warm red-brown and beiges enclosed in a black cave outline. In the woodland scenes, diagonal lines subtly emphasize the rainfall and, later, the sunshine. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.2-by-19.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.2% of actual size.)
A good snuggle-time read when rain turns everyone grumpy. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-60537-598-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clavis
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Still, preschoolers will likely savor this mouthwatering treatment of a subject that looms large in many early school...
The familiar theme of the challenges facing a new kid in town is given an original treatment by photographer Border in this book of photos of three-dimensional objects in a simple modeled landscape.
Peanut Butter is represented by a slice of white bread spread with the popular condiment. The other characters in the story—a hamburger with a pair of hot dogs in tow, a bowl of alphabet soup, a meatball jumping a rope of spaghetti, a carton of French fries and a pink cupcake—are represented by skillfully crafted models of these foods, anthropomorphized using simple wire construction. Rejected by each character in turn in his search for playmates, Peanut Butter discovers in the end that Jelly is his true match (not Cupcake, as the title suggests), perhaps because she is the only one who looks like him, being a slice of white bread spread with jelly. The friendly foods end up happily playing soccer together. Some parents may have trouble with the unabashedly happy depiction of carbs and American junk food (no carrots or celery sticks in this landscape), and others may find themselves troubled by the implication that friendship across difference is impossible.
Still, preschoolers will likely savor this mouthwatering treatment of a subject that looms large in many early school experiences. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16773-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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