A playful twist on an everyday adventure about choosing a new pet.
In this new installment of Child’s popular series, Charlie and his imaginative younger sister, Lola, dream about owning a new dog, but, as usual, Lola has fanciful ideas about what kind of dog they should choose.
Mom and Dad say, “Absolutely no dogs!” but all Lola will talk about is what kind of dog to get when her dad takes her to the pet store on Saturday. Their mom suggests a rabbit instead, but a rabbit “is not even the same as a squirrel,” let alone a dog. As the siblings discuss their future pet with Charlie’s friend Marv (who is white, like the siblings) and Lola’s friend Lotta (who is depicted with dark brown skin and curly black hair), Lola imagines a dog with nice ears to hold its glasses on, a puffy tail, a wiggly nose for sniffing, and hopping legs. These clues about Lola’s perfect pet lead naturally to the surprise at the end, when Lola returns from the store with a pet who looks more like a rabbit than a dog after all. An imaginary dog on a leash follows Lola through the mixed-media, digitally collaged illustrations until she brings home her new pet. Charlie’s response to his sister’s wild ideas models patience and encourages creative thinking.
A playful twist on an everyday adventure about choosing a new pet. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0036-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
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A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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