A curious but effective blend of gentleness and energy give this book from the team that created Kiss It Better (not reviewed) the fillip it needs to catch and hold the attention of the very young. Big Bear and Little Bear are taking a train ride to Grandpa’s house. It doesn’t take long before the antsy Little Bear wants to know how long it’s going to take to get there. To stave off getting hit with the same question again and again and again, Big Bear makes Little Bear some lunch, then pulls out some crayons and coloring books, then reads her a story. Trouble is that when the trip is only half over, Big Bear’s bag of tricks is empty. Self-amusement is never a problem, though, when you can run around, so Little Bear makes speedy tracks up and down the aisle, gathering a little disapproval here and an element of surprise there, but mostly the smiles of the other passengers. Soon other young critters are joining in and time flies. Fortunately, in this instance, the train is filled with parents and children, so the failure of Big Bear to reign in the little speed demon is overlooked. A mellow tempo infuses what otherwise would be a nerve-fraying piece of travel madness, all warmly abetted by Joos’s watercolors. (Picture book. 2-4)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-525-46701-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2001
A gentle outing for children who are ready for stories of everyday life rather than just objects to name.
A brief rhyming board book for toddlers.
Spurr's earlier board books (In the Garden and At the Beach, both 2012; In the Woods, 2013) featured an adventuresome little boy. Her new slice-of-life story stars an equally joyful little girl who takes pleasure in flying a new kite while not venturing far off the walkway. Oliphant's expressive and light-filled watercolors clearly depict the child's emotions—eager excitement on the way to the park, delight at the kite's flight in the wind, shock when the kite breaks free, dejection, and finally relief and amazement. The rhymes work, though uneven syllable counts in some stanzas interrupt the smooth flow of the verse. The illustrations depict the child with her mass of windblown curls, brown skin, and pronounced facial features as African-American. Her guardian (presumably her mother) is also brown-skinned. It is refreshing to see an African-American family settled comfortably in a suburban setting with single-family homes and a park where the family dog does not need to be leashed.
A gentle outing for children who are ready for stories of everyday life rather than just objects to name. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-56145-854-7
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
In this entry in the Growing Tree series, the publisher copyrights the text, while Carpenter provides illustrations for the story; here, the three billy goats named Gruff play on a nasty troll’s greed to get where the grass is greenest. Logic has never been the long suit of this tale: Instead of letting the two smaller billy goats be terrorized by the mean and ugly troll, children wonder, why doesn’t the biggest billy goat step in sooner? It’s still a good introduction to comparatives, and the repetitiveness of the story invites participation. The artwork matches the story: The characters are suitably menacing, quivering, or stalwart, and the perspectives allow readers to be right there in the thick of the action. (Picture book. 2-4)
Pub Date: June 30, 1998
ISBN: 0-694-01033-2
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HarperFestival
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
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