The appealingly drawn characters and settings help make the pill of compromise go down without too much difficulty
For two cartoon friends, patience and participation are key to making this camping trip a success.
As Peanut and Moe leave their house, Peanut wants to know if they can go swimming. “Not yet,” says Moe, who is clearly into the logistics of the adventure, in counterpoint to Peanut’s pleasure-principle–driven spontaneity. They go for a hike, do some bird-watching, and have a snack, all the while the increasingly frantic Peanut wants to get in the water. “Now?” “Now?” “Now!” Peanut asks and then demands as Moe seeks to establish camp, ready the tent and the fire, and unpack their packs. “Not yet.” “Not yet.” “Not yet!” Finally, Moe stalks off in a huff as Peanut actively if unconsciously subverts the setting-up of camp. Left alone, and aware of Moe’s frustration, Peanut gets the camp into tip-top shape. Moe sneaks back into camp and yells “NOW!” and the fun begins. Peanut’s arrangement of camp makes the après-swim a pleasure, as they are cozy in their towels, warmed by the fire, and happy to have their meal, and best of all come the s’mores. In Perry’s illustrations, Moe looks like an elongated blue marshmallow with limbs and a long, pink nose, while Peanut looks like their namesake, but with long ears.
The appealingly drawn characters and settings help make the pill of compromise go down without too much difficulty . (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-101-91952-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Safe to creep on by.
Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.
In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.
Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Whether spoken by a dinosaur or a human, this parental message clearly radiates “I’ve loved you from the start.”
The cover’s glowing golden stars are but a small hint of the parent-child love inside.
In this companion book to the creators’ I Love You, My Little Unicorn (2022), a world full of digitally created dinosaurs illustrated in eye-catching colors dominates the pages. From the start, it’s clear that dinosaur parents have the same hopes and dreams for their offspring that human parents do. Readers don’t have to be dinosaur fans to smile when the parent-and-child dinosaur pairs playfully interact and share loving glances. Take special note of the ankylosauruses, whose tails arc to form a heart beneath a sky filled with heart-shaped clouds. The text in verse shares words of unconditional parental love and support and wisdom (“please remember all these things / that I want you to know”), appropriate for humans and dinos alike. “Roar with all your might!” “Spread your wings and fly.” “Use your voice, and ask for help.” There’s even a caveat that some “days will be dark / and other shades of gray.” But “there’s always brightness up ahead.” While the loving sentiments in the storytelling are clear, words are sometimes inverted to make the rhyme work, and the verse doesn’t always follow a consistent meter, but prereading will let the story shine during quiet snuggle times.
Whether spoken by a dinosaur or a human, this parental message clearly radiates “I’ve loved you from the start.” (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781728268361
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
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