A pleasing portrait of a nurturing father-son relationship, McBratney’s latest should find a warm welcome.
Fans of McBratney’s best-known work, Guess How Much I Love You (illustrated by Anita Jeram, 1994), will recognize (and embrace) the cozy tone of this charming story about how to cope with mishaps.
They’re also likely to welcome little Hansie and his parents, a cuddly, anthropomorphized bear family, with open arms. Hansie behaves like a typical preschooler, busy mimicking the world around him, digging in the dirt and playing with his friends. Each scenario, however, leads to a minor injury or moment of discomfort. Hansie bangs his knee, gets sand in his eyes and knocks his head against a low-hanging branch. In each case, his father is close by, ready to apply a bandage, advise him to “blinkety blink” to clear his vision or give his head a rub. Each simple remedy is capped with a big hug and a comforting “There, there.” When his father comes home later in need of care, Hansie is happy to return the favor. McBratney’s plot doesn’t break any new ground, but he endows his ursine characters with distinct voices and effectively captures a young child’s endearingly imaginative play. Bates’ mixed-media illustrations, meanwhile, add even more sweetness and an old-fashioned feel, with rounded shapes, soft outlines, subdued colors and engaging details (don’t miss the ducks playing in the sand).
A pleasing portrait of a nurturing father-son relationship, McBratney’s latest should find a warm welcome. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6702-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Templar/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
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A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees.
After Duncan finds his crayons gone—yet again—letters arrive, detailing their adventures in friendship.
Eleven crayons send missives from their chosen spots throughout Duncan’s home (and one from his classroom). Red enjoys the thrill of extinguishing “pretend fires” with Duncan’s toy firetruck. White, so often dismissed as invisible, finds a new calling subbing in for the missing queen on the black-and-white chessboard. “Now everyone ALWAYS SEES ME!…(Well, half the time!)” Pink’s living the dream as a pastry chef helming the Breezy Bake Oven, “baking everything from little cupcakes…to…OTHER little cupcakes!” Teal, who’s hitched a ride to school in Duncan’s backpack, meets the crayons in the boy’s desk and writes, “Guess what? I HAVE A TWIN! How come you never told me?” Duncan wants to see his crayons and “meet their new friends.” A culminating dinner party assembles the crayons and their many guests: a table tennis ball, dog biscuits, a well-loved teddy bear, and more. The premise—personified crayons, away and back again—is well-trammeled territory by now, after over a dozen books and spinoffs, and Jeffers once more delivers his signature cartooning and hand-lettering. Though the pages lack the laugh-out-loud sight gags and side-splittingly funny asides of previous outings, readers—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals.
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622360
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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