A most unusual book featuring counting and animal identification; whether readers will take up the invitation to enjoy it...
One by one, 16 animals charge down a grassy slope in a colorful assortment of footwear.
Cat, Tiger, Duck, and others ride by in shoes that match their personal styles: Chicken has feathers on her fancy boot, Dog is in a furry shoe. Bear happily pedals along while honking a horn. Giraffe has some difficulty staying upright “in her unreliable rickety tall-boot car,” while shoeless Crab and Rat make do with a teapot and pail, respectively. Large-scale double-page spreads with rhyming text on the verso and animals on the recto propel the action. Russian illustrator Popov gets top billing, suggesting that Kandle’s rhymes were added after the creation of the illustrations. The text is uneven and lacks spark: “Duck’s music may sound hideous, / but at least his ride is amphibious.” The unusual mixed-media artwork has an ambiguous quality, setting the fun of a parade against a dark, cheerless hillside. Other illustrations are downright creepy: “Wolf’s on the hunt for a pig or three. / He’s getting ready for afternoon tea.” He’s also dressed in a red cape and carries a suspiciously red ax in his gray, tanklike shoe. Fortunately, the pig is not in front of him. The rear endpapers pull back to show (most of) the whole parade and invite readers to “turn to page one, and…start it again!”
A most unusual book featuring counting and animal identification; whether readers will take up the invitation to enjoy it again will depend on their tolerance for the surreal. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-988-8341-25-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
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)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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