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BE WILD, LITTLE ONE

Name: BE WILD, LITTLE ONE
Author: Olivia Hope
ISBN: 978-1-5476-1126-3

by Olivia Hope ; illustrated by Daniel Egnéus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 28, 2023

Each page is an enticement to get outside and explore.

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Hope’s debut book is a bit of encouragement for kids to enjoy the natural world.

Readers follow along as a light-skinned child with short brown hair sporting blue shorts and a striped T explores the world around them. “Wake up early. Don’t be shy. / This bright world can make you FLY! / Be wild, little one.” In this scene, the child is reminiscent of Thumbelina, a tiny figure curled inside a poppy watching an array of butterflies. “Make the world / your own playground. / Fill it with a noisy sound” shows the child perched in the curve of an elephant’s trunk as they lead a noisy stamping parade of elephants. Readers are encouraged to explore the world—from the skies to the seas to the tops of trees—all the while being wild. It’s clear that imagination plays a key part in this book. Egnéus’ illustrations delight, from the child flying atop a white bird to dangling in a basket under a dandelion puff balloon. The “dance with fireflies” is especially delightful. Rich patterns and vibrant colors keep the pages turning along with the rollicking rhyming verse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Each page is an enticement to get outside and explore. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-5476-1126-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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HEY, DUCK!

by Carin Bramsen & illustrated by Carin Bramsen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 22, 2013

A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.

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A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.

He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.

A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)