Elephant & Piggie sure are a tough act to follow, but readers will more than likely want to squirrel these new friends...
A cast of squirrels investigates a missing tooth in this off-the-wall series opener from Willems.
When lisping Zoom Squirrel reveals that they lost their tooth, the other squirrels work themselves into a frenzy. A tooth? All alone? Oh no! The rodent collective asks for clues and declares it their mission to find Zoom Squirrel’s tooth. As the others’ grand search takes them near and far (albeit in the wrong directions), Zoom Squirrel finds their tooth without help. Or did the tooth find Zoom Squirrel? This reader, a level up in complexity from Elephant & Piggie, offers a similar formula but with a longer page count and a larger cast of cartoony characters. Willems’ signature use of color-coded speech bubbles helps readers recognize speakers amid the increased amount of dialogue. Willems also breaks out of his early-reader mold with the inclusion of backmatter (tooth facts, silly jokes, and a quiz) and a table of contents. While the amusing backmatter effectively blends elements of nonfiction, the slim table of contents comes off as extraneous since the bulk of the story is uninterrupted by chapters. Similarly, Willems’ use of “emote-acorns” to alert readers “when the Squirrels have BIG feelings” is a unique tool for encouraging social-emotional development but questionably effective.
Elephant & Piggie sure are a tough act to follow, but readers will more than likely want to squirrel these new friends away with equal fervor. (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-368-02457-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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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