Delightful barnyard humor sends the important messages of embracing individual strengths and the power of friendship.
The farmer’s offhand comment creates a crisis for Donkey and the barnyard cats.
Despite his name, Donkey knows he is a cat. After all, Farmer always says, “Goodnight, kitty cats!” before leaving the barn for the night. Donkey licks, pounces, and perches like a cat, but sometimes he feels out of place. When Donkey climbs onto Farmer’s lap one day, she exclaims that he is acting just like a cat. “What if I’m NOT a cat?” Donkey asks the barn’s cats. The logical cats suggest he is a dog, cow, horse, or “a spiffy, strong cat” capable of protecting them. Knowing he doesn’t belong with the cats, Donkey sadly leaves the warm barn for the cold, rainy pasture. Later, he hears “scaredy-cat whimpers.” Racing to defend a kitten from a fox, Donkey instinctively turns and bucks his back legs high into the air. The fox flees. When Donkey and the kitten return to the barn to a “mewed chorus of cheers,” Donkey embraces his true self and reveals his new identity—Don-kitty! Detailed cartoon illustrations vary from scenes spanning double-page spreads to vignettes that result in fast action. Speech-bubble commentary and feline facial expressions help develop the cats’ personalities and make for a warm and funny read. Farmer is light-skinned with blond hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Delightful barnyard humor sends the important messages of embracing individual strengths and the power of friendship. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9781525305535
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
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
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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