An engaging nature tale that emphasizes themes of resilience, bravery, and respect for the elements.
A fearful young tree finds courage in this picture book.
Kara worries that “Wind could smash her, Water could drench her, Earth could swallow her, And Night…could freeze her” before she has the chance to grow older and taller. When she voices her concerns to tall Utsa, who is over 200 years old, the wise tree relates a story about her daughter, Aa-hum, and the girl’s cousin Viheen, who got caught in a hurricane. The two trees reacted differently: Viheen “smirked at Water” while Aa-hum “took it as if she were taking a shower.” Viheen “shook his roots” and “sneered at Night” while Aa-hum “dug her roots” and “huddled with Night.” Aa-hum still stands “one hundred years and many storms later,” but Viheen was destroyed. Inspired by the tale, Kara aims to stay strong. That night, she boldly withstands a storm. She “smiled and bowed as Wind passed by” and as “Water slammed…Kara’s roots drank all they could.” Kara awakens the following morning to a bright day: “I will hum through storms. I will dance to tunes.” Utilizing lyrical language, Anand offers a lovely, thought-provoking sentiment about appreciating one’s surroundings and persevering through unpredictable, scary circumstances. Kara’s realizations and spirit will inspire readers facing challenges in their own lives. Redwood’s lush, pleasant illustrations portray expressive, anthropomorphic trees and beautiful forest backdrops in mostly dark hues. Some feature artistic details like human figures swirling in the sky.
An engaging nature tale that emphasizes themes of resilience, bravery, and respect for the elements.Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-955088-09-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Pathbinder Publishing, LLC
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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