Subpar photography plus patronizing text keep this one from flying. (Picture book. 3-6)
When two blue jays build a nest on a third-floor balcony of his New York City home, Berendt documents their work and the progress of their three eggs and chicks, right to the first fledgling's surprising first journey.
The author's 4"x6" snapshots, with scalloped white borders, are mounted one or two to a page above or alongside a short paragraph of exclamation-point littered text. These images, some perhaps taken through a window, are not always very clear. His text ascribes human emotions and actions to these birds and often talks down to his audience. “And what do you think he gave them to eat? Bugs and worms!” He also presumes gender, assuming it’s the male who chose the nest site, began the construction and does the feeding, though he admits at the end that the only time he could tell them apart was when the female laid the eggs. He describes the birds’ actions as if he were talking to grandchildren, using a first person conversational voice and occasional direct address. This is a first title for children by the city-dwelling author of best-selling adult nonfiction. Exciting as this encounter with nature was for him, he hasn’t translated it into a successful children’s book; a better choice is Pamela F. Kirby’s What Bluebirds Do (2009), with its large, sharp photographs, objective description and helpful end matter.
Subpar photography plus patronizing text keep this one from flying. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-670-01290-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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