Another imaginative delight…what will this duo dream up next? (Picture book. 3-7)
The exuberant duo from Higher! Higher! (2009) is back in Patricelli’s latest, this time imagining all the animals dad could be as his daughter rides on his back.
While her younger brother gets pushed on a swing in the background (yelling, “Higher, higher!” of course), the lively girl demands a ride of her dad. Climbing on his back and taking his necktie in her hands like reins, she demands that he go “Faster! Faster!” until suddenly it is no longer her father she is riding. He becomes first a dog, then a rabbit, an ostrich, a horse, a cheetah, a hawk, a dolphin and a sea turtle—all of which sport Dad’s purple polka-dot tie. Each spread gives a glimpse of the next animal Dad will become, as well as a look back at the exhausted animal he was on the previous page. Motion streaks and clouds of dust give readers clues as to just how fast Dad is… until, as a sea turtle, he finally runs out of steam, and the picture changes back to a young girl atop her tired and sprawled-out father. She gently reassures him, “You’re fast, Daddy!” as they head off for (one hopes) further imaginative play. Patricelli’s acrylics combine bright colors with minimalist details to capture the joy of the young girl and the closeness of their father-daughter bond.
Another imaginative delight…what will this duo dream up next? (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5473-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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
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