A little too cute for its own good.
Eduardo is not just any sheep—he’s going to be an Elite Sheep, and he can’t wait to graduate from the Fairy-Tale Bureau of Investigations.
When he reports to the home office, he’s excited to learn he’s been assigned his own case—and humble he’s not. The other agents’ offers of assistance are spurned with righteous indignation. “Would someone who needs a partner already get put on a case? Before they even graduate?” Three “perpetrators,” i.e. “bad guys,” are trying to kidnap Mary for a zillion-dollar ransom, and it’s Eduardo’s job to keep her safe—only it’s not as easy as it sounds. Bashed, crashed, and smashed, Eduardo finally yelps for help and realizes that being a team player is what being Elite is all about. Pearson’s tough-guy asides come fast and furious and will be responsible for many an eye-roll whiplash. “This here’s what you call a dossier (pronounced DAH-see-ay for all you civilians).” Morris’ too-cool-for-school secret-agent squirrels, complete with sunglasses, clipboards, and earpieces, document Eduardo’s every blunder from the endpapers to the team sports competitions. Pun-filled scenarios that alternate between the Men in Black–like headquarters and nursery-rhyme citizenry reminiscent of Shrek’s cast provide many visual distractions when the story slows or gets too corny. In true comic-strip fashion, the dialogue is confined to speech bubbles, and cracks about Mary’s little lamb abound. Eduardo’s comeuppance is as subtle as a sledgehammer, as is the author’s call for teamwork.
A little too cute for its own good. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5039-0290-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
