Kids may respond to the shaggy yak, but that may not be enough for real staying power.
Animal-friendship stories are plentiful, but this one is an unusual pairing of characters.
When Dove asks Yak, “Do you ever wish we were twins?” Yak answers, “No, Dove.” Dove persists, citing all of the nifty things they could do, like wear matching clothes, invent rhyming names, live in the same house, and eat an equal number of cupcakes. But the nice possibilities soon turn into carping. Yak calls Dove “ill-mannered,” and Dove calls Yak “smelly,” and just like that, they are no longer friends. “Lamenting,” Yak tells Marmot of this newfound need for a friend, so Marmot holds auditions for a talent show. Wolf’s declared the winner, but it’s Dove who wins back Yak’s heart. Friends again, they make a quiet garden together. Watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil illustrations dramatize the differences in the characters’ sizes and add touches of whimsy, often in the form of the lightly anthropomorphized animals’ attire. Yak likes footwear (kids will especially like the four high-top sneakers in one vignette); Dove wears the occasional tiny accessory; Wolf wears a blue tutu and bra. The text is entirely delivered in a question-and-answer repartee (individual types for each character) that both moves the story along and maintains the characters’ gender ambiguity. Still, agreeable though it is, it lacks the charm and characterization of such standards as Frog and Toad.
Kids may respond to the shaggy yak, but that may not be enough for real staying power. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-77049-494-7
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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
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