Unlike Maurice Sendak’s Pierre, Duckworth has no lesson to learn; readers can decide for themselves whether he’s highly...
The difference between a snake and a snake costume is pretty big.
Duckworth is a human boy who wears knickers and stockings and whose hairstyle can only be described as a comb-forward. He’s playing contentedly in his room when a massive, orange-patterned snake slithers out of the closet. Duckworth goes downstairs and informs his parents, but Mother and Father are busy reading a book called Dealing with Your Difficult Child. They consider the snake a figment of Duckworth’s imagination—and even when the snake swallows Duckworth and comes downstairs, they insist it’s merely Duckworth wearing a snake costume. Duckworth, intact and articulate inside the snake, explains the situation, but his parents cleave to the parenting book’s philosophy that Duckworth’s “fantasies will go away if we ignore them.” As the snake sits at the dinner table, Duckworth’s bodily outline can be seen inside the snake’s midsection, far away from the table. The family has no meeting of the minds. Eventually, Duckworth extricates himself from the snake—none the worse for wear—and considers seeking a book about dealing with difficult parents. Sardà’s illustrations blend a gothic sensibility with an art deco style, highlighting geometrical patterns, sharp angles, and a lot of orange and gray. People’s skin color comes from the flat white background paper.
Unlike Maurice Sendak’s Pierre, Duckworth has no lesson to learn; readers can decide for themselves whether he’s highly imaginative or merely unflappable when swallowed. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0512-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
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
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