A stain is mundane, but this jovial yarn’s quite the opposite.
There’s a blue splotch on Daisy’s new white dress—but how did it get there?
When Daisy shows Mama the spot, Mama immediately asks, “How did that happen?” The answer is anything but immediate. Daisy begins reporting events that seem initially to be potential answers: “It all started when I was drawing during art class with a blue pen”; using blue chalk for hopscotch; eating blueberries. But none of these caused the spot, and Daisy’s reports veer into the fantastical: “then it started raining blueberries!”; blueberry rain becomes blueberry jam; the jam spouts like a geyser; Daisy surfs a wave of blueberry pie; a blue monster sobs blue tears. The ever stretching tale saves the real answer for the end, where its very ordinariness makes a funny cap to the previous adventure-filled possibilities. Sastrawinata-Lemay’s digital illustrations are ebullient, with soft textures, soft edges, and, naturally, many shades of blue. Daisy and Mama are anthropomorphic cats with wide, round eyes (and the blue monster has nine eyes, all googly). Daisy often stares directly out at readers, which sometimes feels incongruous but also emphasizes that she’s the storyteller, not just to Mama, but to readers. Oddly, although their cat-shaped mouths can make plenty of varied expressions, Mama often sports an empty smile that doesn’t match the moment.
A stain is mundane, but this jovial yarn’s quite the opposite. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-02459-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney Press
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
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
Let these crayons go back into their box.
The Crayons return to celebrate Easter.
Six crayons (Red, Orange, Yellow, Esteban, who is green and wears a yellow cape, White, and Blue) each take a shape and scribble designs on it. Purple, perplexed and almost angry, keeps asking why no one is creating an egg, but the six friends have a great idea. They take the circle decorated with red shapes, the square adorned with orange squiggles “the color of the sun,” the triangle with yellow designs, also “the color of the sun” (a bit repetitious), a rectangle with green wavy lines, a white star, about which Purple remarks: “DID you even color it?” and a rhombus covered with blue markings and slap the shapes onto a big, light-brown egg. Then the conversation turns to hiding the large object in plain sight. The joke doesn’t really work, the shapes are not clear enough for a concept book, and though colors are delineated, it’s not a very original color book. There’s a bit of clever repartee. When Purple observe that Esteban’s green rectangle isn’t an egg, Esteban responds, “No, but MY GOSH LOOK how magnificent it is!” Still, that won’t save this lackluster book, which barely scratches the surface of Easter, whether secular or religious. The multimedia illustrations, done in the same style as the other series entries, are always fun, but perhaps it’s time to retire these anthropomorphic coloring implements. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Let these crayons go back into their box. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-62105-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
