Lively fun. Readers may pick up some pointers for their own games of hide-and-seek.
Elephants can do lots of stuff; they never forget, for instance. But play hide-and-seek? Not so much.
Face it: Whenever elephants play this game with child friends, guess who inevitably gets found first? These giants’ girth and height, not to mention trunks, account for their consistent failure to hide successfully. Now the Elephant Hobby and Sport League comes to the rescue with The Elephants’ Guide to Hide-and-Seek, which features crafty ploys to help level playing fields. Wise pachyderms would do well to bring their vaunted memories to bear on its pages. Sample tips: hiding in a large bathtub with shower curtains and standing behind a humongous pile of unsorted laundry (the kind found in a typical kid’s bedroom). Some don’ts? Cramming into too-small spaces, like doghouses, or pretending to be a lump in a bed. If nothing works, the guide also advises that elephants just be “it”—or simply accept the fun of being found. After all, “you love those kids!” This cute but slight tale mines humor from its snarky narration, voiced in the cheesy tone of a TV commercial. Cheery, energetic, expressive cartoons depict kids with varied skin tones and hairstyles playing in the park with their blue, bespectacled elephant pal as the latter demonstrates various tips outlined in the guide.
Lively fun. Readers may pick up some pointers for their own games of hide-and-seek. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4926-7846-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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