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THE BIG RACE

Name: THE BIG RACE
Author: David Barrow
ISBN: 978-1-61067-880-3

by David Barrow ; illustrated by David Barrow ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2019

Satisfactory—but far from transcendent.

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Participation awards are for people who try.

And Aardvark wants to try! On the day of the big race, she sets out to compete in a race that traditionally features the, “fastest, biggest and strongest” animals in town: Cheetah, Buffalo, and Crocodile. Although the trio is skeptically hostile, Aardvark vows that she’ll enter and that she’ll have fun competing. Over a series of obstacles that see the race’s leader change multiple times, Aardvark stays in last place until the final minutes of the race. While the final result may be a bit of a surprise for some readers, the message of inclusion creates a heartwarming end. Barrow’s story is amusing but far from groundbreaking. The colorfully mottled illustrations are bright and inviting, but they may cause the odd head-scratch from astute readers: Why is crocodile in third place during the swimming portion of the race? How did everyone get a hot air balloon except Aardvark? She registered, too. And how, after plummeting from high in the sky, does Aardvark survive when her helium-balloon conveyance pops?? These quirks aside, the book is perfectly adequate. Aardvark makes a comical contrast to the powerful animals, with her stubby legs, elongated snout, and expressively droopy ears.

Satisfactory—but far from transcendent. (Picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-61067-880-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Kane Miller

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
A FLOCK OF FUN
by Raven Howell ; illustrated by David Barrow

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BEST KIND OF BEAR
by Greg Gormley ; illustrated by David Barrow

- BOOK REVIEW
FERGUS BARNABY GOES ON VACATION
by David Barrow ; illustrated by David Barrow

HORTON AND THE KWUGGERBUG AND MORE LOST STORIES

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HORTON AND THE KWUGGERBUG AND MORE LOST STORIES

by Dr. Seuss ; illustrated by Dr. Seuss ; introduction by Charles D. Cohen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 9, 2014

Fans both young and formerly young will be pleased—100 percent.

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Published in magazines, never seen since / Now resurrected for pleasure intense / Versified episodes numbering four / Featuring Marco, and Horton and more!

All of the entries in this follow-up to The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories (2011) involve a certain amount of sharp dealing. Horton carries a Kwuggerbug through crocodile-infested waters and up a steep mountain because “a deal is a deal”—and then is cheated out of his promised share of delicious Beezlenuts. Officer Pat heads off escalating, imagined disasters on Mulberry Street by clubbing a pesky gnat. Marco (originally met on that same Mulberry Street) concocts a baroque excuse for being late to school. In the closer, a smooth-talking Grinch (not the green sort) sells a gullible Hoobub a piece of string. In a lively introduction, uber-fan Charles D. Cohen (The Seuss, The Whole Seuss, and Nothing but the Seuss, 2002) provides publishing histories, places characters and settings in Seussian context, and offers insights into, for instance, the origin of “Grinch.” Along with predictably engaging wordplay—“He climbed. He grew dizzy. His ankles grew numb. / But he climbed and he climbed and he clum and he clum”—each tale features bright, crisply reproduced renditions of its original illustrations. Except for “The Hoobub and the Grinch,” which has been jammed into a single spread, the verses and pictures are laid out in spacious, visually appealing ways.

Fans both young and formerly young will be pleased—100 percent. (Picture book. 6-9)

Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-385-38298-4

Page Count: 56

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
DR. SEUSS'S EVERY VOICE COUNTS!
illustrated by Dr. Seuss

- BOOK REVIEW
DR. SEUSS'S HORSE MUSEUM
by Dr. Seuss ; illustrated by Andrew Joyner

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT PET SHOULD I GET?
by Dr. Seuss ; illustrated by Dr. Seuss

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BOOKMARKS ARE PEOPLE TOO!

From the Here's Hank series , Vol. 1

by Henry Winkler ; Lin Oliver ; illustrated by Scott Garrett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 2014

An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda.

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Hank Zipzer, poster boy for dyslexic middle graders everywhere, stars in a new prequel series highlighting second-grade trials and triumphs.

Hank’s hopes of playing Aqua Fly, a comic-book character, in the upcoming class play founder when, despite plenty of coaching and preparation, he freezes up during tryouts. He is not particularly comforted when his sympathetic teacher adds a nonspeaking role as a bookmark to the play just for him. Following the pattern laid down in his previous appearances as an older child, he gets plenty of help and support from understanding friends (including Ashley Wong, a new apartment-house neighbor). He even manages to turn lemons into lemonade with a quick bit of improv when Nick “the Tick” McKelty, the sneering classmate who took his preferred role, blanks on his lines during the performance. As the aforementioned bully not only chokes in the clutch and gets a demeaning nickname, but is fat, boastful and eats like a pig, the authors’ sensitivity is rather one-sided. Still, Hank has a winning way of bouncing back from adversity, and like the frequent black-and-white line-and-wash drawings, the typeface is designed with easy legibility in mind.

An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda. (Fiction. 7-9)