This rhythmic, imaginative romp practically reads itself aloud.
Zoo animals of every size work together to turn an abandoned mall into a new zoo.
Takoda the anthropomorphic tiger cub thinks the old building and grounds would make a wonderful zoo. (It’s entirely unclear why a new one’s warranted, as these animals seem to be self-governing, with no humans in sight.) His fellow animals are up to the challenge, and readers will be too as they count the animals on each page: “Two rough, tough rhinos” with bulldozers, three lemurs with paint rollers, four oryx cutting windows, etc. But the rhinos spurn the insects when they offer their help: “ ‘You bugs are too small.’ / ‘You’re pests. You’re annoying. / You don’t count at all.’ ” Before long the amusement park–like zoo is complete, but a new problem arises: Those rhinos won’t share the water slide. “Then silently, stealthily, down from the sky…” it’s bugs to the rescue, proving to even the rhinos that everyone counts. The final spread is a riot of fun as the animals enjoy the slide, and those with good eyes and some patience will be able to spy the insects. Don’t miss the jokes on the endpapers (adults will surely hear them multiple times). Sierra’s rollicking rhymes are fun to read aloud and listen to, and Brown’s gouache and pencil illustrations give children lots of details to pore over, but it doesn’t do for counting what the team’s Wild About Books (2004) did for reading.
This rhythmic, imaginative romp practically reads itself aloud. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-64620-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
