An attractive complement to Eric Carle’s The Mixed-Up Chameleon.
Napoleon, a colorful, “spiffy” chameleon, lives on an equally “spiffy” tree limb and blends in so well with his surroundings the other jungle residents cannot see him.
With his charming personality, Napoleon tries to entice and engage Polly, a squawking parrot, and Mike, a screeching monkey, by waving his arms, weaving a welcome mat, and making funny faces. Much to their fright and distress, the parrot and monkey see only a talking tree. In his final attempt to be recognized, Napoleon stands on his head and eventually slips and falls, so he’s forced to use his sticky tongue to flick and grab hold of the limb. Suddenly everyone is able to see him hanging by his tongue. Polly is impressed by his colors, and Mike admires his swinging. The three become friends through daily visits and games of hide-and-seek. Detailed, vibrant paintings in boldly verdant colors give Napoleon’s rain-forest environment a surrealistic twist. Curved shapes echo the lizard’s bulging eyes, rounded body, bumpy skin, and curling tail, melding kaleidoscopically with his ever changing colors. The well-designed layout draws children into the paintings to search for Polly, Mike, and, of course, Napoleon in each amid abundant insects, mushrooms, ferns, and fungus living and growing on the tree limb.
An attractive complement to Eric Carle’s The Mixed-Up Chameleon. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-58536-378-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Gently models kindness and respect—positive behavior that can be applied daily.
A group of young “dinosauruses” go out into the world on their own.
A fuchsia little Hugasaurus and her Pappysaur (both of whom resemble Triceratops) have never been apart before, but Hugasaurus happily heads off with lunchbox in hand and “wonder in her heart” to make new friends. The story has a first-day-of-school feeling, but Hugasaurus doesn’t end up in a formal school environment; rather, she finds herself on a playground with other little prehistoric creatures, though no teacher or adult seems to be around. At first, the new friends laugh and play. But Hugasaurus’ pals begin to squabble, and play comes to a halt. As she wonders what to do, a fuzzy platypus playmate asks some wise questions (“What…would your Pappy say to do? / What makes YOU feel better?”), and Hugasaurus decides to give everyone a hug—though she remembers to ask permission first. Slowly, good humor is restored and play begins anew with promises to be slow to anger and, in general, to help create a kinder world. Short rhyming verses occasionally use near rhyme but also include fun pairs like ripples and double-triples. Featuring cozy illustrations of brightly colored creatures, the tale sends a strong message about appropriate and inappropriate ways to resolve conflict, the final pages restating the lesson plainly in a refrain that could become a classroom motto. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Gently models kindness and respect—positive behavior that can be applied daily. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-82869-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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