Feathery fun for the newly numerate. Take it away, Arithmechicks!
Arithmechicks discover that (as Stephens puts it) “bedtime – chicks = later bedtime!”
Together with the new mouse friend they met in Arithmechicks Add Up (2019), 10 diversely hued and patterned chicks respond to Mama’s “Time to hit the hay!” with a wild scramble to hide—first one, which leaves nine to go, then three more, leaving six, and so on in unpredictable groups until there are “0 chicks” (nor any mouse) to be seen. Then, just to change things up, no sooner does Mama find her chicks than a cry of “Again! Again!” touches off a second round of disappearances in different groupings. Each successive subtraction comes with an open-ended line, as in “10 chicks minus 1 chick equals…,” with the answer not immediately adjacent but visible on the facing page. To help readers arrive at solutions, Liu tucks into her cartoon pictures various strategies, including a traditional arithmetical equation, a “ten frame,” a number line, or even fingers (feathers); these are all summarized in small type in a closing section. Stephens uses alliteration and internal rhymes to set up a cozy rhythm, and she brings the brouhaha to an end with a final henhouse snuggle (Mouse gets a sleeping bag): “All found and winding down / with cuddles and bedtime books. / Stretching starts, yawns are next, / dreams are coming soon.” (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 75% of actual size.)
Feathery fun for the newly numerate. Take it away, Arithmechicks! (Informational picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-62979-808-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
This is a tremendously moving story, but some people will be moved only on the second reading, after they’ve Googled “How to...
A hug shouldn’t require an instruction manual—but some do.
A porcupine can frighten even the largest animal. In this picture book, a bear and a deer, along with a small rabbit, each run away when they hear eight simple words and their name: “I need a hug. Will you cuddle me,…?” As they flee, each utters a definitive refusal that rhymes with their name. The repetitive structure gives Blabey plenty of opportunities for humor, because every animal responds to the question with an outlandish, pop-eyed expression of panic. But the understated moments are even funnier. Each animal takes a moment to think over the request, and the drawings are nuanced enough that readers can see the creatures react with slowly building anxiety or, sometimes, a glassy stare. These silent reaction shots not only show exquisite comic timing, but they make the rhymes in the text feel pleasingly subtle by delaying the final line in each stanza. The story is a sort of fable about tolerance. It turns out that a porcupine can give a perfectly adequate hug when its quills are flat and relaxed, but no one stays around long enough to find out except for an animal that has its own experiences with intolerance: a snake. It’s an apt, touching moral, but the climax may confuse some readers as they try to figure out the precise mechanics of the embrace.
This is a tremendously moving story, but some people will be moved only on the second reading, after they’ve Googled “How to pet a porcupine.” (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Jan. 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-29710-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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