Beginning readers will be able to read this refreshing tale alone; younger kids will tell it from the pictures.
A child and a dog go through their day together.
With nary an adult in sight, the 4- or 5-year-old unnamed child with messy brown pigtails takes charge, brushing the dog in a messy bathroom, feeding the dog at a little table where it wreaks havoc, dressing the canine in all sorts of outfits, and finally taking it outdoors, where the duo meets a small gold-and-brown cat. The dog gets away from its owner and merrily chases the cat through the park, until the child falls in the mud and finally catches the leash again, just in time for ice cream. With just three words in each spread and only the verb varying (“Train your dog. / Treat your dog”), the watercolor-and–colored-pencil art provides delightful details, sometimes using animation strategies to advance the action, as in the “Train your dog” spread, in which the child first glares at the dog, the dog then licks the child, the child instructs the dog, and finally, in a full-page illustration, the dog sits and wags its tail, drawn as three tails with arcing motion lines crossing them. The suburban setting is shown in soft, light pastel hues, while the big, brown dog is given texture with pencil. The minimal text works well with the maximal visual storytelling.
Beginning readers will be able to read this refreshing tale alone; younger kids will tell it from the pictures. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 5, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-399-54652-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
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
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender...
A polar-bear parent speaks poetically of love for a child.
A genderless adult and cub travel through the landscapes of an arctic year. Each of the softly rendered double-page paintings has a very different feel and color palette as the pair go through the seasons, walking through wintry ice and snow and green summer meadows, cavorting in the blue ocean, watching whales, and playing beside musk oxen. The rhymes of the four-line stanzas are not forced, as is the case too often in picture books of this type: “When cold, winter winds / blow the leaves far and wide, / You’ll cross the great icebergs / with me by your side.” On a dark, snowy night, the loving parent says: “But for now, cuddle close / while the stars softly shine. // I’ll always be yours, / and you’ll always be mine.” As the last illustration shows the pair curled up for sleep, young listeners will be lulled to sweet dreams by the calm tenor of the pictures and the words. While far from original, this timeless theme is always in demand, and the combination of delightful illustrations and poetry that scans well make this a good choice for early-childhood classrooms, public libraries, and one-on-one home read-alouds.
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender restrictions. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-070-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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