Gnomish “heart-seeing” might be the best way to appreciate this winning tribute to euphoria.
Tiny gnomes’ life goals center on experiencing as much joy as possible.
More emotive and less instructive than Owen Churcher and Niamh Sharkey’s A Field Guide to Leaflings (2023), this book introduces similar elusive beings who live “all around us.” Inventive names like Hotchi Mossy, Merry Pip, and Cob Tiggy help individualize Soloy’s thumb-size creatures, who have bulbous bodies, stick appendages, and kind, squarish faces in shades from light to brown. The gnomes each have an “important job,” like storytelling, eggsitting for birds, and planting. They ride leaves while wearing acorn helmets, enjoy chases astride squirrels and hares, and seem to be vegan. Gnomes love celebrating, singing and circle-dancing when a mushroom appears or a shiny rock is found. Unlike the lollipop watercolors of Leaflings, the art here features heavy lines and earthy colors that will perhaps inspire some young copyists. The book aims to make readers more attentive to nature as a source of joy: Rose Gladly’s seed library or Abel Potter’s “woody pig” (i.e., woodlouse) might help readers find pleasure in what they see outdoors. There are joys for every sense, including a recipe for gnome cookies. And there are more subtle forms of happiness to appreciate, like “the joy of sitting with another person, not talking, together.” The final message is direct: “You can choose to look closely. You can choose to see the magic in the world. You can choose to believe.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Gnomish “heart-seeing” might be the best way to appreciate this winning tribute to euphoria. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 20, 2023
ISBN: 9780735271043
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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