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LET'S HAVE A TREE PARTY!

Name: LET'S HAVE A TREE PARTY!
Author: David Martin
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3704-0

by David Martin & illustrated by John Manders ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 13, 2012

Not to be a party pooper, but this bash requires too much extra work from the reader to make it a success.

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Grandpa Crow is having a party, and the whole forest is invited, throughout the day and night.

But this isn’t any old celebration—every childhood game imaginable is crammed into this tiny tree. It starts with the animals playing Hide and Seek, then some practice counting, followed by Follow the Leader and Simon Says, with some pizza and ice cream thrown in for good measure. Children will delight in recognizing these games, but it’s enough to make one’s head spin. The rollicking, yet highly uneven rhyme scheme doesn’t help. Patterns begin and then break. Rhythms falter from the very start: “ ‘I’m having a party!’ shouted Grandpa Crow. / ‘Spread the word so our friends all know. / Come one, come all, and make merry with me. / What could be better than friends together at a party in a tree?’ ” The text livens up when the dancing and onomatopoeia beats drop in. But Manders’ expressive animals, from slimy slugs to a mischievous raccoon shaking his booty, are the true life of this party.

Not to be a party pooper, but this bash requires too much extra work from the reader to make it a success. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: March 13, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-7636-3704-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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by David Martin ; illustrated by Raissa Figueroa

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by David Martin ; illustrated by David Walker

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by David Martin ; illustrated by Lori Richmond

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YOUR BABY'S FIRST WORD WILL BE DADA

by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.

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A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.

A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: June 9, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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5 MORE SLEEPS 'TIL HALLOWEEN
by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Rich Deas

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CON POLLO
by Jimmy Fallon & Jennifer Lopez ; illustrated by Andrea Campos

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Jimmy Fallon Christmas Book Coming This Fall

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I NEED A HUG

by Aaron Blabey ; illustrated by Aaron Blabey ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 29, 2019

This is a tremendously moving story, but some people will be moved only on the second reading, after they’ve Googled “How to...

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A hug shouldn’t require an instruction manual—but some do.

A porcupine can frighten even the largest animal. In this picture book, a bear and a deer, along with a small rabbit, each run away when they hear eight simple words and their name: “I need a hug. Will you cuddle me,…?” As they flee, each utters a definitive refusal that rhymes with their name. The repetitive structure gives Blabey plenty of opportunities for humor, because every animal responds to the question with an outlandish, pop-eyed expression of panic. But the understated moments are even funnier. Each animal takes a moment to think over the request, and the drawings are nuanced enough that readers can see the creatures react with slowly building anxiety or, sometimes, a glassy stare. These silent reaction shots not only show exquisite comic timing, but they make the rhymes in the text feel pleasingly subtle by delaying the final line in each stanza. The story is a sort of fable about tolerance. It turns out that a porcupine can give a perfectly adequate hug when its quills are flat and relaxed, but no one stays around long enough to find out except for an animal that has its own experiences with intolerance: a snake. It’s an apt, touching moral, but the climax may confuse some readers as they try to figure out the precise mechanics of the embrace.

This is a tremendously moving story, but some people will be moved only on the second reading, after they’ve Googled “How to pet a porcupine.” (Picture book. 3-5)