A charming, beautifully illustrated guide to the English capital for kids.
A peripatetic calico cat visits London in this fifth picture book in a series.
KeeKee is a feline who travels the world by balloon, seeing such famous cities as Paris, Rome, and, now, London. The cat starts out with Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, where Will, a ram, makes her feel welcome. He offers to show her around, and they travel by double-decker bus and the Underground, visiting such tourist landmarks as Piccadilly Circus and the ravens at the Tower of London. After a pub lunch, they watch the changing of the Queen’s Horse Guard and are invited to tea by the corgi queen. KeeKee and Will look around the palace, then have a delicious tea. A London guide, glossary, and maps are included, plus links for KeeKee fans. Jones (KeeKee’s Big Adventures in Athens, Greece, 2014, etc.) provides a good beginner’s introduction to London that will be especially helpful for children visiting for the first time and needing orientation regarding lingo, food, and popular sights. Adults will enjoy in-jokes, such as the queen's being represented by a corgi, the real-life queen’s favorite canine. Returning illustrator Uhelski’s illustrations are a huge plus, doing much to set the stage by depicting detailed landmarks and capturing KeeKee’s friendly personality.
A charming, beautifully illustrated guide to the English capital for kids.Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-9990661-6-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Calithumpian Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
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
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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