Truly, you don’t need words to tell a great (and all-too-relatable) dog tale.
Misery and affection go hand in hand when it comes to taking your pup out for walkies.
Upon returning home from walking the dog, all a kid wants is to get into dry clothes and play some computer games. The child’s overexcited pup has different plans, however. After the dog gets tangled in the electrical cords and knocks the computer over, the child dons a raincoat once more and takes the pooch out into the miserable weather again. The youngster is less than pleased. The pup, in contrast, is ecstatic. Initially aggrieved, the kid begins to slow down and notice the beauty of the natural world. Things might be wet, messy, muddy, and slick, but sometimes it takes a canine to show what’s already in front of your eyes. In this entirely wordless tale, Lourenço evinces emotion on the page with admirable acuity. Both the child, who has paper-white skin, and the dog vie equally for readers’ sympathies at the beginning. Colors, like the yellow of the rain slicker or the vibrant red of the leash, pop magnificently when presented against the blue gloom of the day, the hues brightening in tandem with the kid’s mood. This is a natural successor to Doug Salati’s Caldecott-winning Hot Dog (2022).
Truly, you don’t need words to tell a great (and all-too-relatable) dog tale. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 14, 2024
ISBN: 9781645678717
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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