Short and sweet, like its winning protagonist.
The Gingerbread Man searches for a missing class pet.
The Gingerbread Man was baked by a class of students and now lives in their classroom, taking part in daily activities. Today it’s his turn to feed Squeaks, the pet mouse, but she isn’t in her cage. So he follows her paw prints, uncovers clues, and then finally comes across Squeaks in a most unexpected place. This delectable tale is the second in a new spinoff series in which the Gingerbread Man transitions from picture books into graphic novels. Murray’s rhyming text follows the pattern of others in the series, echoing the cadence of the original Gingerbread Man refrain. The cartoon panels give the book a scene-by-scene flow, which especially works well for a clue-based pet hunt. The Gingerbread Man has wide, cartoon eyes, an icing bow tie, and little red buttons. Speech bubbles help differentiate dialogue from narration, and the formatting works well as an introduction to graphic novel reading for the early elementary school crowd. Children reading on their own will have a blast, and caregivers and children alike will enjoy sharing it as well. The few humans in the story are depicted with varying skin tones and hair colors. Overall, this is a fun tale with a clear, concise plot.
Short and sweet, like its winning protagonist. (Graphic early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593532447
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts.
Can knightly deeds bring together a feathered odd couple who are on opposite daily schedules?
Having won over a dragon (and millions of fans) in the Caldecott Honor–winning Knight Owl (2022), the fierce yet impossibly cute nocturnal, armor-clad owlet faces a new challenge—sleep deprivation—in the wake of taking on Early Bird, a trainee who rises with the sun and chatters interminably: “I made pancakes! Do you like pancakes? I love pancakes! Where’s the syrup?” It’s enough to test the patience of even the knightliest of owls, and eventually Knight Owl explodes in anger. But although Early Bird is even smaller than her mentor, she turns out to be just as determined to achieve knighthood. After he tells her to leave, she acquits herself so nobly in a climactic encounter with a pack of wolves that she earns a place at the castle. Denise proves a dab hand at depicting genuinely slinky, scary wolves as well as slipping cheerfully anachronistic newspapers and other sight gags into his realistically wrought medieval settings to underscore the tale’s tongue-in-cheek tone. Better yet, a final view of the doughty duo sitting down together to a lavish pancake breakfast/dinner at dusk ends the episode in a sweet rush of syrup and bonhomie.
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9780316564526
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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