Cute enough, but not likely to inspire repeated readings.
Alliteration and rhyme abound in Fuge’s latest, an abecedarian salute to anthropomorphized animals.
Fuge provides a nice mix of animals, including aardark, cobra, narwhal, sloth and vole, and readers will be pleasantly shocked to learn that Z is not for zebra. The author neatly sidesteps the difficulties of coming up with animals for all the letters (E is for egg). Large, red capital letters make it easy for learners to pick out the alphabet, while the text reinforces the sounds those letters make. Unfortunately, not every letter gets its own treatment: “G, girl gorilla, / H and I, hare on ice, / J, jolly jackal and his joyful, jumping mice.” While the rhyme sometimes stumbles (unicorn rhymed with Vaughn), the rollicking rhythm of the verses keeps the text moving, which is good, as page turns do not advance any sort of story—the stand-alone spreads rely on humor rather than narrative to engage audiences. The illustrations provide this whimsy, featuring realistically detailed animals partnered with amusing touches that bring the words to life—the pirate panther sports a gold hoop in his ear, while the dancing dodo is not complete without his straw hat and cane.
Cute enough, but not likely to inspire repeated readings. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4027-8645-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2011
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
Let these crayons go back into their box.
The Crayons return to celebrate Easter.
Six crayons (Red, Orange, Yellow, Esteban, who is green and wears a yellow cape, White, and Blue) each take a shape and scribble designs on it. Purple, perplexed and almost angry, keeps asking why no one is creating an egg, but the six friends have a great idea. They take the circle decorated with red shapes, the square adorned with orange squiggles “the color of the sun,” the triangle with yellow designs, also “the color of the sun” (a bit repetitious), a rectangle with green wavy lines, a white star, about which Purple remarks: “DID you even color it?” and a rhombus covered with blue markings and slap the shapes onto a big, light-brown egg. Then the conversation turns to hiding the large object in plain sight. The joke doesn’t really work, the shapes are not clear enough for a concept book, and though colors are delineated, it’s not a very original color book. There’s a bit of clever repartee. When Purple observe that Esteban’s green rectangle isn’t an egg, Esteban responds, “No, but MY GOSH LOOK how magnificent it is!” Still, that won’t save this lackluster book, which barely scratches the surface of Easter, whether secular or religious. The multimedia illustrations, done in the same style as the other series entries, are always fun, but perhaps it’s time to retire these anthropomorphic coloring implements. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Let these crayons go back into their box. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-62105-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
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