A jaunt to the seashore has an unexpected ending for a young explorer who investigates the sea using her five senses. In turn, the sea seems to examine the little girl. “I touched the cold and foamy wet. We splashed and danced each time we met.” Cash’s simple rhymes offer readers playful, easily grasped examples of the five senses: the tangy smell of the air, the roar of the waves, etc. A close encounter with an inquisitive jellyfish puts an end to the girl’s fun. At that point the young protagonist erupts into a fury of toddler proportions. “Stupid water! Stupid land! Stupid salt! Stupid sand!” Her tirade continues for two pages, as she castigates the sea and its creatures. The realistically rendered tantrum is certain to cause a cascade of giggles from young readers, although whether adults will wish to share the vituperative outpouring of the word “stupid” with their children or charges is another story. The comic edge of the illustrations takes the sting, so to speak, out of the debatable word choice, humorously depicting the young girl stomping about with a ferocious scowl. A soothing soak in the tub returns the child’s equanimity and, with that, her fondness for the sea. Cash’s brightly colored pictures offer an engaging range of perspectives to intrigue readers. Brilliant swaths of blue flow across the white backdrop of the horizon, vibrantly contrasting with the intense yellow hues of the beach. Comical touches keep the laughs coming—as in the two-page spread which depicts the girl hollering full tilt in the back of her car while at the side of the road, an apologetic-looking jellyfish dolefully watches the passing vehicle. However, the sparkling artwork and initially effervescent tone is somewhat dimmed by the capricious twists of the tale. (Picture book. 2-6)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-670-89966-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable.
You think you know shapes? Animals? Blend them together, and you might see them both a little differently!
What a mischievous twist on a concept book! With wordplay and a few groan-inducing puns, Neal creates connections among animals and shapes that are both unexpected and so seemingly obvious that readers might wonder why they didn’t see them all along. Of course, a “lazy turtle” meeting an oval would create the side-splitting combo of a “SLOW-VAL.” A dramatic page turn transforms a deeply saturated, clean-lined green oval by superimposing a head and turtle shell atop, with watery blue ripples completing the illusion. Minimal backgrounds and sketchy, impressionistic detailing keep the focus right on the zany animals. Beginning with simple shapes, the geometric forms become more complicated as the book advances, taking readers from a “soaring bird” that meets a triangle to become a “FLY-ANGLE” to a “sleepy lion” nonagon “YAWN-AGON.” Its companion text, Animal Colors, delves into color theory, this time creating entirely hybrid animals, such as the “GREEN WHION” with maned head and whale’s tail made from a “blue whale and a yellow lion.” It’s a compelling way to visualize color mixing, and like Animal Shapes, it’s got verve. Who doesn’t want to shout out that a yellow kangaroo/green moose blend is a “CHARTREUSE KANGAMOOSE”?
Innovative and thoroughly enjoyable. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0534-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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