by Maria Gianferrari ; illustrated by Mia Powell ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2020
A lively addition to the animal shelf.
Just like human children, animals love to play, both to practice adult skills and to have fun.
Gianferrari plays with words, especially action verbs, to introduce an unusual array of animals. “Plonk, dig, slide” and “rub, plop, blow” are the sounds of collared peccaries and rhinos in the mud. “Nibble-fumble, hurdle-tumble, ready to rumble” describes wrestling rats. These playful words and phrases appear in large uppercase letters set at a slight angle to represent movement on the page. A straightforward short sentence identifies the animal and its actions. Boxed explanations add information—ungulates are mammals with hooves, for example—and describe what the depicted animals are learning. Playing tug of war, wolves learn fair play. Both elephants and dolphins practice cooperation through play. Other examples are monkeys, ravens, river otters, dolphins, kangaroos, gorillas, and keas. In the backmatter the author explains why readers should play, how they should “play by the rules, like these animals do”: stepping away if hurt; apologizing; accepting the apology. Finally, there is a further, fairly dense paragraph about each of the featured animals. Illustrator Powell used paints, handmade textures, and digital techniques to create her appealing images. Most spreads show the animals in a natural scene, but a few show a diverse set of five children and the artist’s own black-and-white dog. (On the jacket-flap bio she invites readers to look for him.)
A lively addition to the animal shelf. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5415-5771-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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by Andrew Knapp ; illustrated by Andrew Knapp ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2024
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
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by Andrew Knapp ; photographed by Andrew Knapp
by Sandra Markle ; illustrated by Howard McWilliam ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2024
Another playful imagination-stretcher.
Markle invites children to picture themselves living in the homes of 11 wild animals.
As in previous entries in the series, McWilliam’s illustrations of a diverse cast of young people fancifully imitating wild creatures are paired with close-up photos of each animal in a like natural setting. The left side of one spread includes a photo of a black bear nestling in a cozy winter den, while the right side features an image of a human one cuddled up with a bear. On another spread, opposite a photo of honeybees tending to newly hatched offspring, a human “larva” lounges at ease in a honeycomb cell, game controller in hand, as insect attendants dish up goodies. A child with an eye patch reclines on an orb weaver spider’s web, while another wearing a head scarf constructs a castle in a subterranean chamber with help from mound-building termites. Markle adds simple remarks about each type of den, nest, or burrow and basic facts about its typical residents, then closes with a reassuring reminder to readers that they don’t have to live as animals do, because they will “always live where people live.” A select gallery of traditional homes, from igloo and yurt to mudhif, follows a final view of the young cast waving from a variety of differently styled windows.
Another playful imagination-stretcher. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781339049052
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
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