An interesting story of a boy’s adventure and a scientific tale all rolled into one.
The journey of Chia, a silver chinook salmon, and the adventure of a fish-loving boy converge one afternoon, teaching readers about the salmon life cycle.
Accompanied by highly textured, earth-toned illustrations, Peelen’s story follows Chia from the shores of the Pacific to her spawning ground 1,000 miles up Fourth of July Creek. She swims past a predatory harbor seal, eagle, and grizzly bear, through roots, up a fish ladder, around a dam, into the confluence of two rivers, and into a pool, where the hook of a young fly fisherman, Jon, nearly ends her epic journey. Having anticipated this fishing trip with his family for weeks, Jon wants to be family champion, as his two siblings have been on previous outings. But when Jon’s eyes meet Chia’s, he suddenly has a change of heart. Although damaged from her encounter with Jon’s hook and the grizzly bear’s claws, Chia reaches her destination and continues the life cycle. Jon and his family are depicted as black. Informative backmatter explains how intimately connected salmon are to more than “137 different species of animals, birds, and insects,” making their protection of utmost importance. Unfortunately, this section also includes a quote erroneously attributed to Chief Seattle. Despite this, useful scientific, environmental, and cultural facts about salmon raise unanswered questions to emphasize how little scientists truly know about their behavior.
An interesting story of a boy’s adventure and a scientific tale all rolled into one. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-988-3508-6-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Raven Productions, Inc.
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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