Another sturdy upstart in a perennially popular genre.
While Gwendolyn yearns for a pet, her parents are allergic to many and opposed to all.
They offer a diversionary backyard alternative, which Gwendolyn terms a “box of dirt.” “It’s a bed of soil,” they counter. Where she smells “swamp,” they smell “possibilities.” Accordingly, Gwendolyn launches a new pastime engendering self-education, patience, and delight. She borrows and devours The Great Book of Gardening from the library. She obtains seeds from the community seed library and plants futures of marigolds, basil, fennel, and zucchini. Gwendolyn waters as needed and talks to her invisible charges daily. “But nothing happened.” She bans the neighbor’s dog and affixes a proprietary sign. “But still, nothing happened. / Until the day the soil did a trick.” Tiny leaves push up, joined by others. Gwendolyn names the seedlings and logs information about her growing plants. They blossom, attract bees and butterflies, and bring joy. The soil bed “did not have two legs, four legs, or any legs at all. But it was alive, and Gwendolyn could talk to it, care for it, and watch it grow.” Renaud appealingly conveys the parents’ wryness and daughter’s enthusiasm. The family members, including a baby, all have dark hair and ruddy complexions; the seed exchange’s librarian presents Black. Kheiriyeh’s collages capture Gwendolyn’s bouncy exuberance and present the plants in oversized, stylized fashion. Curiously, a note ties the emergence of seed libraries to the repurposing of library card catalogs—hardly an exclusive purview for either. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.5-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 79.1% of actual size.)
Another sturdy upstart in a perennially popular genre. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984815-28-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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