An uplifting story of animal rescue.
An orangutan family finds safety in a new home.
In her debut picture book, Ward offers young readers and listeners a simple, gentle example of the loss of jungle habitat in Sumatra and the efforts of humans to relocate the orangutans that had been living there. The story is generic, but the rescued animals at Bukit Tigapuluh National Park (Thirty Hills) are real and apparently thriving. Her account begins with a lyrical description of family life in their “emerald green forest,” which is unhappily interrupted by noise and smoke. The orangutan mother moves her family only for their lives to be disrupted again when a machine knocks down their tree. This is a scary moment, but, reassuringly, a friendly human (portrayed as Asian) leads them away. They’re rehomed in a new forest where other orangutans live and forage. There’s repetition, both in the description of approaching devastation and in the family’s activities: eating fruit, tree swinging, and building sleeping nests—salient facts about orangutan habits. The tale is enlivened by Littlewood’s colorful illustrations, which convey a remarkable sense of the lush jungle world. Full of motion, the preliminary orangutan sketches on the endpapers and in the backmatter are a nice touch. The jungle animals are portrayed realistically. The orangutan faces are very expressive, conveying sadness and terror as the machine destroys their home and, at the end, joy. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An uplifting story of animal rescue. (facts behind the story) (Informational picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781913074142
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Otter-Barry
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
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
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
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