Wonderfully animated illustrations and a dramatic story, even if it’s unfair to mountain lions.
In this children’s picture book, a bison can’t seem to connect with others of his kind, but he’s protective of the many friends he has.
On the prairie lives a bison known as Boomer, because when he runs, his hooves go “BOOM-BOOMER-BOOM!” He sometimes seems to see other bison in the distance, but when he tries to run after them, he can never catch up. Luckily, though, Boomer counts numerous other creatures among his friends, including a jackrabbit named Hop-Hopper-Hop; a butterfly, Flit-Flitter-Flit; and Tweet-Tweeter-Tweet, a meadowlark. They’re all scared of Roar-Roarer-Roar, a mountain lion, and for good reason: he has sharp claws and teeth, as well as a sharp intellect. One day, when Boomer leaves his friends and climbs a hill to search for other bison, Roarer sees his chance and attacks. When Boomer hears the meadlowlark’s frightened twittering, he runs to defend them, booming even “louder than Roarer could roar” and frightening him away. Afterward, the friends realize that they’re also a family. Viola (Nightmares Unhinged, 2015, etc.) tells an emotional story in which danger and loneliness resolve into good feelings of unity and mutual care. The language has a pleasing drama and rhythm: “When Boomer tiptoed, his name sounded soft. Boom… Boomer… Boom. When Boomer ran, his name thundered across the valley. BOOMBOOMERBOOM!” Parents who desire accurate depictions of nature, though, may dislike how a predator, a necessary part of the food chain, is villainized. This is certainly traditional in children’s literature, but some other books on prairie animals are more realistic. Illustrators Bell and Lovett contribute greatly to the storytelling with their full-color, varied, and highly expressive—almost cinematic—pictures, which show the prairie’s beauty. The animals are well-rendered, dynamic, and realistic; their faces show a gamut of emotions from sweetness to cunning.
Wonderfully animated illustrations and a dramatic story, even if it’s unfair to mountain lions.Pub Date: June 27, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9988265-0-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: Jam Publishers
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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