A fine springboard to trash art or found art sessions.
What to do with junk, you ask?
Townsfolk join together to collect the refuse clogging their river. Readers learn how mounds of unsightly rubbish fouling a waterway are safely and efficiently removed. We see the litter hauled away by barge and truck for recycling, but a female artist with a cloud of gray hair and a young girl, both with brown skin, keep some of it. Together, they skillfully transform the junk into the tall, impressive titular sculpture. Soon, like-minded neighbors put their own talents to good use, crafting equally inventive masterpieces from discards—and cleaning up the river in the process—then establishing an open-air museum along the riverbank. This is an easy-to-understand tale about protecting the environment and using garbage for good, and readers will appreciate the community spirit at its heart. Kids will enjoy identifying the assorted items shown floating in the river and the occasional onomatopoeic words. The simple, bouncy verses generally scan well, and cheery, colorful illustrations—rendered in collages of hand-painted paper and clippings from old magazines and encyclopedias—depict people diverse in race, gender, age, and physical ability. A boy is shown using a wheelchair, and women are depicted operating machinery. The backmatter includes facts about pollution and cleanup projects, an overview of types of artists, and craft ideas for reusing unwanted items. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A fine springboard to trash art or found art sessions. (author's note, illustrator's note) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 16, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64686-498-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees.
After Duncan finds his crayons gone—yet again—letters arrive, detailing their adventures in friendship.
Eleven crayons send missives from their chosen spots throughout Duncan’s home (and one from his classroom). Red enjoys the thrill of extinguishing “pretend fires” with Duncan’s toy firetruck. White, so often dismissed as invisible, finds a new calling subbing in for the missing queen on the black-and-white chessboard. “Now everyone ALWAYS SEES ME!…(Well, half the time!)” Pink’s living the dream as a pastry chef helming the Breezy Bake Oven, “baking everything from little cupcakes…to…OTHER little cupcakes!” Teal, who’s hitched a ride to school in Duncan’s backpack, meets the crayons in the boy’s desk and writes, “Guess what? I HAVE A TWIN! How come you never told me?” Duncan wants to see his crayons and “meet their new friends.” A culminating dinner party assembles the crayons and their many guests: a table tennis ball, dog biscuits, a well-loved teddy bear, and more. The premise—personified crayons, away and back again—is well-trammeled territory by now, after over a dozen books and spinoffs, and Jeffers once more delivers his signature cartooning and hand-lettering. Though the pages lack the laugh-out-loud sight gags and side-splittingly funny asides of previous outings, readers—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals.
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622360
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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