Day (Follow Carl!, 1998, etc.) offers another appealing animal, Boswell Bear, in a quiet bedtime book. When the light of a full moon awakens pajama-clad Boswell, he takes a hushed tour of the house, performing thoughtful, day-end duties, such as shading the aquarium fish with the end of the curtain and granting the cat’s wish to go out. In illustrations awash with moonlight, readers see Boswell’s perceptions, then his reactions, in almost cinematic progression; the light left on in the kitchen awakens curiosity, curiosity leads to investigation, investigation reveals the slice of pie left on the counter, pie leads to a nighttime snack and the helpful rinsing of the emptied pie tin. Boswell accepts the responsibilities of his nocturnal actions with adult competence. He may interrupt retrieving the cat outside to toss a few hoops, but his patrol leaves nothing unattended to, right down to kissing his sleeping parents good-night so quietly they don’t awaken. Day’s portrayal of a small creature’s activities in the hours of the night usually off-limits to him results in a captivating book. (Picture book. 2-6)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-374-39973-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1999
In a book that shows one kind of conflict resolution, Hugo, a shy frog with a small croak, learns to be more assertive with the help of a duck. Hugo lives in terror of the big frogs, especially Pop Eyes, a bully who dumps Hugo into the pond upside down, snatches his stick, and splashes him. Duck teaches Hugo to quack loudly when threatened, and the next time the bully frogs come around, Hugo opens his mouth and bellows “QUACK!” The result of this surprising emission is that birds scatter, butterflies flutter, fish flap, and the bully frogs fall into the pond. Church’s art gives the frogs, fish, snails, and worms of this story bright colors and ping-pong-ball eyes, plus the requisite goofy expressions. A funny story, with surprises that will have toddlers giggling. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-86233-093-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
Hopping is not hard, for a frog, but when he asks other animals to join him, he finds that bats flap, lobsters snap, and dust flies when an especially large rhinoceros stomps. None of the creatures can do what the frog does so well, until he meets a rabbit, and it becomes a friendship bound by bounding. Vere’s creatures are reminiscent of Sandra Boynton’s: smiling, bright, and lively, unrestrained by this board book’s small dimensions. A hopping good time. (Board book. 1-4)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30131-1
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
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