Serviceable content slightly marred by inconsistent illustrations.
One dog shows another dog the ins and outs of friendship.
When Big Dog meets Little Dog, Big Dog says “Be my friend.” But “What is a friend?” Little Dog asks. Well, as Big Dog explains, friends “have fun!” They ride the train to the zoo. They board the bus to see boats. They even take a rocket to the moon. Illustrations depict the pair of canines engaging in each of the activities. When snow comes one day, Big Dog decides to take a bath. Little Dog gets his boots and goes out the door alone. The page turns, and—“Oh, no!”—Little Dog falls and gets buried in the snow. Big Dog hears Little Dog’s bark (“WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!”). But can he find and rescue his new friend? This endearing friendship story is Myers’ first new work in decades. The limited vocabulary of around 70 words and their variants and the circular plot make the text accessible to emerging readers. Though the loosely drawn cartoon illustrations are playful, some inconsistencies are distracting. Still, the ample white space and limited color palette add to the text’s accessibility. Most pages feature only animals, but those that depict children show a variety of skin tones. Even though both dogs are anthropomorphic, Big Dog wears only a sweater, and Little Dog wears no clothing.
Serviceable content slightly marred by inconsistent illustrations. (Early reader. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4451-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
As ephemeral as a valentine.
Daywalt and Jeffers’ wandering crayons explore love.
Each double-page spread offers readers a vision of one of the anthropomorphic crayons on the left along with the statement “Love is [color].” The word love is represented by a small heart in the appropriate color. Opposite, childlike crayon drawings explain how that color represents love. So, readers learn, “love is green. / Because love is helpful.” The accompanying crayon drawing depicts two alligators, one holding a recycling bin and the other tossing a plastic cup into it, offering readers two ways of understanding green. Some statements are thought-provoking: “Love is white. / Because sometimes love is hard to see,” reaches beyond the immediate image of a cat’s yellow eyes, pink nose, and black mouth and whiskers, its white face and body indistinguishable from the paper it’s drawn on, to prompt real questions. “Love is brown. / Because sometimes love stinks,” on the other hand, depicted by a brown bear standing next to a brown, squiggly turd, may provoke giggles but is fundamentally a cheap laugh. Some of the color assignments have a distinctly arbitrary feel: Why is purple associated with the imagination and pink with silliness? Fans of The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) hoping for more clever, metaliterary fun will be disappointed by this rather syrupy read.
As ephemeral as a valentine. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9268-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.
Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.
There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”
Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781400247417
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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