Poetic and informative, a breath of fresh air in the too-often-contrived world of bilingual books.
By means of the alphabet, this bilingual book introduces the cloud forest habitat of the olinguito, a recently discovered mammalian species from the Ecuadorean Andes.
Via text that reads like poetry, readers join a zoologist in the cloud forest of the Ecuadorean Andes as he searches for the elusive olinguito. Using the alphabet as a device, Delacre presents the habitat of the olinguito. By focusing on the habitat rather than the animal the author reinforces the important concept of interconnectedness. In a nice departure from the usual bilingual book produced in the States, Spanish is presented first, and the alphabet includes the “ñ.” In another welcome departure, both languages have been allowed to breathe and sound fluent. The Spanish text, often alliterative, hews closer to the corresponding alphabet letter than the English does; if it doesn’t work for the English text the author has allowed it to be so. For example, “Pp: Pica, pica, picaflor del paraíso de las palmas de cera / A hummingbird sips nectar in this paradise of wax palms.” The beautifully detailed mixed-media artwork urges readers to look closely, and the author further encourages exploration by listing some of the things readers can go back and search for in the illustrations. The book is rounded out with bilingual backmatter.
Poetic and informative, a breath of fresh air in the too-often-contrived world of bilingual books. (author notes, glossaries, author’s sources) (Bilingual informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-89239-327-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Children's Book Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
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
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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