Astronomically goofy fun.
Agent Binky, a self-appointed Space Cat, undertakes another well-meaning but ludicrous mission.
Don’t be fooled by appearances—Binky isn’t your average suburban feline. He’s part of P.U.R.S.T. (Pets of the Universe Ready for Space Travel), a group of animals sworn to protect earthlings from extraterrestrial interlopers. As the book opens, we find Binky cuddling his beloved stuffed mouse, Ted, and reveling in tummy tickles and butt scratches from his loving, tan-skinned human family. Bliss is brief: “Citrus likealotus. Code name: Fruit Fly” soon invades. Springing into action, Binky carefully places Ted against a screen door—just steps from a banana peel—and begins to chase the “alien” fly. Surprise! Binky slips, launching himself and the screen into “outer space” (the backyard). The cat is swiftly brought back inside by Big Human, so quickly that Binky leaves Ted behind. It falls to Loo the fish to alert Binky that Ted’s still “trapped in outer space” beneath a “floating alien spaceship” (a hive of buzzing bees). Though Binky panics, the P.U.R.S.T. agents assemble, and the usual elaborate preparations and miscalculations ensue. A TV tie-in with the series Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe, this picture book features detailed color cartoons that underscore the characters’ grandiose efforts and farcical failures. Their comical ineptitude not only will elicit giggles—it will also allow young audiences to feel amazingly competent by comparison.
Astronomically goofy fun. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781525312649
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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