“It’s cold and wet. What can be done? / A trip on the subway, just for fun!” A father and his two children run down into the New York subway to ride the rails and explore the trains all day long. Every line is represented as the family hops from track to track. Set on stark, black backgrounds with free-flowing brush strokes, the trains swoop and turn on ribbons of appropriately colored paths. And when many of the lines converge in the middle of the book, aptly at Times Square, they tangle like spaghetti strings. After a full day of fun, the children climb out, ready for subway dreams at night. In a witty visual twist, the humans appear as traffic-sign–style white pictograms, with round heads floating over stick bodies (and occasionally attired to suit the text). Inspired by Niemann’s clever New York Times blog, “Abstract City,” this artistic tour de force will appeal to New Yorkers and visitors alike. Eagle-eyed enthusiasts will carefully plot every stop, spotting subway humor along the way. That the meter occasionally strains is the only false step on this fresh, striking subway tour. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: June 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-06-157779-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2010
Smoother rides are out there.
Mommy and Bonnie—two anthropomorphic rodents—go for a joyride and notice a variety of conveyances around their busy town.
The pair encounter 22 types of vocational vehicles as they pass various sites, including a fire engine leaving a firehouse, a school bus approaching a school, and a tractor trailer delivering goods to a supermarket. Narrated in rhyming quatrains, the book describes the jobs that each wheeled machine does. The text uses simple vocabulary and sentences, with sight words aplenty. Some of the rhymes don't scan as well as others, and the description of the mail truck’s role ("A mail truck brings / letters and cards / to mailboxes / in people's yards) ignores millions of readers living in yardless dwellings. The colorful digitally illustrated spreads are crowded with animal characters of every type hustling and bustling about. Although the art is busy, observant viewers may find humor in details such as a fragile item falling out of a moving truck, a line of ducks holding up traffic, and a squirrel’s spilled ice cream. For younger children enthralled by vehicles, Sally Sutton’s Roadwork (2011) and Elizabeth Verdick’s Small Walt series provide superior text and art and kinder humor. Children who have little interest in cars, trucks, and construction equipment may find this offering a yawner. Despite being advertised as a beginner book, neither text nor art recommend this as an engaging choice for children starting to read independently. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Smoother rides are out there. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-37725-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
Lola’s daddy takes her to the library every Saturday, where she finds “excellent books,” and every night her mommy or daddy reads them to her. The next day Lola acts out the story. On Sunday she’s a fairy princess; on Monday she takes her toy animals “on fantastic trips to places like Paris”; on Wednesday she’s a tiger, etc. Each new book and day provides Lola with a variety of tales to play out, with the last one—which is about a wild monster—posing the question, “What will Lola be tomorrow?” The final page shows her in a wolf suit just like Max’s. The library books, the pretending and the incorporation of the days of the week work together as a simple and pleasing premise. Beardshaw’s acrylic illustrations depict the multicultural kids and Lola’s black family with childlike charm, while the title will have librarians, parents and booksellers smiling. Alert: The book will be an invitation for lap kids to follow Lola’s lead—not such a bad thing. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-58089-258-2
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2010
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