Both chortle-inducing and whiny at turns, this proves there’s nothing new under the metafictive sun.
Arnold the sheep desperately wants to be part of the story…with a few modifications.
The narrator begins with a proper “Once upon a time,” but after that, the tale quickly derails. Instead of a little girl in a red hood, a big fluffy sheep suddenly fills the page (as Arnold declares, “A Heidschnucke sheep to be exact”). The narrator is confused. Arnold explains that sheep are always relegated to the backgrounds of stories. (Case in point, “Little Bo Peep”). He wants to be the star this time. “Oh, all right, then,” the narrator relents. But Arnold has some other suggestions as well. Could the story’s setting not be in a dark wood? It’s a little creepy. Plus, Arnold knows some fantastic friends to fill a few of the roles. Einer the muskrat would make a great wolf. And Frankie the warthog would be the perfect granny. Overzealous Arnold takes the story into his own cloven hooves, providing a wacky interpretation of the classic tale. Atkinson’s interrupting speech bubbles, stately frames, faux corner page turns, and large pencil with erasure marks pack in every trope. Like so many of its ilk, the story takes a back seat to concept, resulting in what feels like 40 pages of setup.
Both chortle-inducing and whiny at turns, this proves there’s nothing new under the metafictive sun. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5748-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
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
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
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