The text and illustrations will amuse, and children and caregivers alike will find something to relate to in this...
A boy decides he wants to be wild and free, like a bear.
Theo wakes up one morning and decides he is a bear. He practices his growl, scratches his rear on his bedpost, and declares bears don’t wear underwear (bare bottom illustrated, so giggles are guaranteed). His mother plays along with his grizzly ways (and even sees opportunities for adding veggies to his diet) but tries to tame his wildness. As a bear, Theo causes a lot of trouble at school. Using a touch of turnabout, his mother helps him realize that he can be a little wild and free while still following the rules. Davis-Pyles captures the struggle between a child who wants to play all day and a parent who wants to maintain control but not stifle his imagination. The narration is typed, while dialogue is illustrated in speech bubbles. Although the story flows well, there is one speech bubble that may cause pause: “Forest foods will make you brown bear BIG!” In the illustrations, Subisak alternates Theo as a boy with Theo as a grizzly. She uses bold colors and varied lines to add movement and emphasis on the emotions and actions. Using the details and the shadows, she does an excellent job of showing the two sides: grizzly vs. human. Theo and his mom present Asian.
The text and illustrations will amuse, and children and caregivers alike will find something to relate to in this actions-and-consequences story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-63217-168-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Bigfoot/Sasquatch
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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
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