No doubt fans of the previous titles will appreciate the story of friends cooperating on such an exciting venture, but...
This third early reader in the Hot Rod Hamster series (Hot Rod Hamster and the Wacky Whatever Race, 2014) finds the likable rodent and his crew of pals planning costumes for a big Halloween bash.
Hot Rod Hamster convinces Dog to attend the upcoming Halloween party, but first they must acquire the perfect get-ups in order to win either the “best” or “spookiest costume.” The duo, along with a few enthusiastic mice, searches for the perfect thing to wear. “Ghost fun. Clown fun. Star fun. Crown fun. / Which would you choose?” This familiar phrasing, though utilized in previous Hot Rod titles, is less than effective here in creating a rhythm, since dialogue bubbles are interspersed throughout the text irregularly. When the group settles on dressing up as a rock band, they must come together to write a song to sing, build a stage, and integrate a ghostly choir to add pizzazz to their musical debut. Guess who wins? Unfortunately Paprocki’s illustrations have a mass-produced cartoon quality that do not quite match Derek Anderson’s more painterly style, seen in the picture books in the series.
No doubt fans of the previous titles will appreciate the story of friends cooperating on such an exciting venture, but overall this offering falls a bit flat. (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-81529-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
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
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts.
Can knightly deeds bring together a feathered odd couple who are on opposite daily schedules?
Having won over a dragon (and millions of fans) in the Caldecott Honor–winning Knight Owl (2022), the fierce yet impossibly cute nocturnal, armor-clad owlet faces a new challenge—sleep deprivation—in the wake of taking on Early Bird, a trainee who rises with the sun and chatters interminably: “I made pancakes! Do you like pancakes? I love pancakes! Where’s the syrup?” It’s enough to test the patience of even the knightliest of owls, and eventually Knight Owl explodes in anger. But although Early Bird is even smaller than her mentor, she turns out to be just as determined to achieve knighthood. After he tells her to leave, she acquits herself so nobly in a climactic encounter with a pack of wolves that she earns a place at the castle. Denise proves a dab hand at depicting genuinely slinky, scary wolves as well as slipping cheerfully anachronistic newspapers and other sight gags into his realistically wrought medieval settings to underscore the tale’s tongue-in-cheek tone. Better yet, a final view of the doughty duo sitting down together to a lavish pancake breakfast/dinner at dusk ends the episode in a sweet rush of syrup and bonhomie.
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9780316564526
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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