A fair if somewhat ephemeral story. Readers looking for humorous antics may find more shenanigans in No, David! or Officer...
What happens when over 25 stuffed animals go wild? Officer Hardy and her partner will be glad to show you!
Dunn and Nash introduce readers to a very naughty teddy bear whose antics would put most fraternity-house parties to shame. While Teddy’s owner is away from home, Teddy invites all his stuffed and plush friends over for a day of over-the-top fun. A bed is destroyed, underwear is worn atop heads, and chocolate sauce is used to make one of the messiest (and most delicious) baths/pool parties ever. It’s the kind of mischievous fun that would make most preschoolers squeal with joy and most parents moan as they consider the cleanup costs. Dunn’s story, related in the second person to the owner of the delinquent toy, is farcical, but readers may wish for more interaction than they get. The sequence about the broken bed is most successful; the police officers are depicted amid the party’s aftermath on the recto, allowing readers to guess what happened before the page turn. Nash’s digital illustrations capture the zany day in an engaging color palette, but the use of white space on many of the pages creates an austere contrast to the full-color tomfoolery of the party. Although there are only six humans in the story, Nash uses them to highlight the diversity of Teddy’s neighborhood; investigating officer Hardy is a black woman and her subordinate a white man, in an especially nice touch.
A fair if somewhat ephemeral story. Readers looking for humorous antics may find more shenanigans in No, David! or Officer Buckle and Gloria. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7537-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender...
A polar-bear parent speaks poetically of love for a child.
A genderless adult and cub travel through the landscapes of an arctic year. Each of the softly rendered double-page paintings has a very different feel and color palette as the pair go through the seasons, walking through wintry ice and snow and green summer meadows, cavorting in the blue ocean, watching whales, and playing beside musk oxen. The rhymes of the four-line stanzas are not forced, as is the case too often in picture books of this type: “When cold, winter winds / blow the leaves far and wide, / You’ll cross the great icebergs / with me by your side.” On a dark, snowy night, the loving parent says: “But for now, cuddle close / while the stars softly shine. // I’ll always be yours, / and you’ll always be mine.” As the last illustration shows the pair curled up for sleep, young listeners will be lulled to sweet dreams by the calm tenor of the pictures and the words. While far from original, this timeless theme is always in demand, and the combination of delightful illustrations and poetry that scans well make this a good choice for early-childhood classrooms, public libraries, and one-on-one home read-alouds.
Parent-child love and affection, appealingly presented, with the added attraction of the seasonal content and lack of gender restrictions. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-070-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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