Honored as a finalist for a New Zealand illustration award when it was first published in 2012, this story of determined...
After her first nest is invaded by a rat, a mother fantail bird begins again, constructing a soft, warm nest where new eggs hatch successfully.
Fantails are tiny New Zealand birds, adapted to living in a variety of habitats, including suburban parks and gardens, and not particularly frightened of humans. Because of their familiarity, they’re a relatively common subject for children’s books there. For American readers, though, much about fantails and their environment will be new, and the attraction here may well be the visual presentation of that different world. The simple story is related in short bits of alliterative text plus sketches on panels that mimic quilt patches, complete with “stitching” in different colors around the edges. These are set directly on spreads painted mostly in greens and browns showing natural shapes from the birds’ world as well as more fantails in various postures. The endpapers provide a key to the plants and other animals Tolland pictures. These include a morepork (a type of owl), a rat, a grasshopperlike tree weta, and a red admiral butterfly as well as some ferns, flowers, leaves, and a tree. A few fast facts at the end offer more information about fantails.
Honored as a finalist for a New Zealand illustration award when it was first published in 2012, this story of determined bird parents can nest safely on American nature shelves as well. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-76036-071-9
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Starfish Bay
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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
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