A neat look at connections many children can see in action
A cycle of logical syllogisms takes readers from the title stipulation through a series of conclusions that ends at the beginning.
It’s hard to argue with the logic. “If you love honey, / Then you must love honey bees. // If you love honey bees, / It’s no wonder you love dandelions.” Each statement appears on a double-page spread accompanied by a related fact: bees must visit about 2 million flowers to produce a pound of honey, for instance. The chain of affection extends from dandelions to ladybugs to goldenrod to butterflies to clover to the soil to earthworms to mushrooms to oak trees to blue jays to blackberries and back to honeybees and honey. While some of the connections are a bit of a stretch, the short explanatory text generally explains the logic, and it is summarized in the backmatter. Morrison’s illustrations are crisp if a bit on the stiff side, and they include many details not mentioned in the text, such as a family of bears on a honey raid fleeing angry guard bees and a whole host of insects, amphibians, and other fauna that inhabit this bucolic environment. The beekeeper is assisted by an African-American child, who shares a picnic with her Caucasian friend, who provides the berries. Copious backmatter provides further information on pollination, honeybees and other beneficial insects, and flowers and seed spreaders, as well as activities and Web resources.
A neat look at connections many children can see in action . (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-58469-533-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dawn Publications
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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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