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
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
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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