The familiar childhood song of “Over in the Meadow” receives a makeover in a lush new setting. With an upbeat tempo, catchy rhymes take readers on a tour of the African landscape while they learn about the numbers one through ten. From three squawking eaglets to ten sleepy monkeys, Wilson introduces a wide array of exotic and familiar animals. Rhythmic verses remain faithful to the original format of the traditional poem: “Over in the grasslands / where the sun shines late / Lived an old mother toad / and her little toads eight / ‘Hop,’ said the mother. / ‘We hop,’ said the eight. / So they hopped and they hopped / while the sun shone late.” Adult readers will be hard-pressed not to warble the sing-songy rhymes during read-aloud sessions while the repetitive structure of the poem invites preschoolers’ exuberant participation. Bartlett’s illustrations shimmer with the colorful intensity of the African plains; the slightly blurred renderings capture the abundant flora and fauna of the terrain. A two-page spread is dedicated to each new number introduced, with the verse on one side and an accompanying illustration on the other. Prominently placed in the upper left-hand corner of each spread is a picture of the highlighted numeral. The full-bleed, full-color illustrations on the facing pages depict an animal mother and babies in their natural habitat; lions loll on a grassy slope while hippos soak in a sapphire-blue, fish-filled pond. End pages include an overview of the numbers and animals. A melodious and edifying addition to the genre. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-316-93910-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
As ephemeral as a valentine.
Daywalt and Jeffers’ wandering crayons explore love.
Each double-page spread offers readers a vision of one of the anthropomorphic crayons on the left along with the statement “Love is [color].” The word love is represented by a small heart in the appropriate color. Opposite, childlike crayon drawings explain how that color represents love. So, readers learn, “love is green. / Because love is helpful.” The accompanying crayon drawing depicts two alligators, one holding a recycling bin and the other tossing a plastic cup into it, offering readers two ways of understanding green. Some statements are thought-provoking: “Love is white. / Because sometimes love is hard to see,” reaches beyond the immediate image of a cat’s yellow eyes, pink nose, and black mouth and whiskers, its white face and body indistinguishable from the paper it’s drawn on, to prompt real questions. “Love is brown. / Because sometimes love stinks,” on the other hand, depicted by a brown bear standing next to a brown, squiggly turd, may provoke giggles but is fundamentally a cheap laugh. Some of the color assignments have a distinctly arbitrary feel: Why is purple associated with the imagination and pink with silliness? Fans of The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) hoping for more clever, metaliterary fun will be disappointed by this rather syrupy read.
As ephemeral as a valentine. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9268-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their...
Less ambitious than Chris Gall’s widely known Dinotrux (2009) and sequels, this British import systematically relegates each dinosaur/construction-equipment hybrid to its most logical job.
The title figures are introduced as bigger than both diggers and dinosaurs, and rhyming text and two construction-helmeted kids show just what these creatures are capable of. Each diggersaur has a specific job to do and a distinct sound effect. The dozersaurus moves rocks with a “SCRAAAAPE!!!” while the rollersaurus flattens lumps with a cheery “TOOT TOOT!!” Each diggersaur is numbered, with 12 in all, allowing this to be a counting book on the sly. As the diggersaurs (not all of which dig) perform jobs that regular construction equipment can do, albeit on a larger scale, there is no particular reason why any of them should have dinosaurlike looks other than just ’cause. Peppy computer art tries valiantly to attract attention away from the singularly unoriginal text. “Diggersaurs dig with bites so BIG, / each SCOOP creates a crater. // They’re TOUGH and STRONG / with necks so long— / they’re super EXCAVATORS!” Far more interesting are the two human characters, a white girl and a black boy, that flit about the pictures offering commentary and action. Much of the fun of the book can be found in trying to spot them on every two-page spread.
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their dino/construction kicks. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-4779-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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