A sweet tale about friendship that gives a glimpse of life in another part of the world, this loving tribute to Beijing is a...
A Chinese girl in search of her lost kitty inadvertently takes readers on a tour of famous landmarks in Beijing.
An unnamed girl and a stray white kitty quickly form a friendship. “Kitty loves to come with me when I bicycle around Beijing.” The two even come up with a unique call and answer using the girl’s “new bell” she attaches to the handlebars: “Trrring-trring. Niaow-niaow, answers Kitty.” Unfortunately, while enjoying the kites at the Dragon Boat Festival, Kitty ambitiously captures a dragon kite only to be whisked away from her friend. The perfectly balanced and evenly paced narrative highlights the many historic sites in Beijing while showcasing the small scenes of everyday life during her search. “I visit Liulichang Street. Kitty has good taste in antiques. She likes to watch artists painting, too.” Yang brings another layer of emotion to the story when the girl finally finds her furry friend in the care of “a granny” and must decide where Kitty is needed the most. Yang’s simple sketches are painted over with bright, bold colors that are sure to keep young eyes exploring every scene, which bustle with cars, bicyclists, and other people enjoying activities both familiar and less typical for Western readers.
A sweet tale about friendship that gives a glimpse of life in another part of the world, this loving tribute to Beijing is a perfect read-aloud for young travelers. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: July 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9270-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor
Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.
The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
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