A provocative model of amity.
An affectionate farm cat and a lovable farm dog are the best of friends as youngsters, but as they grow up, they also grow apart.
An affable Chinese farmer narrates the tale. His neighbor gives the narrator and his wife a puppy named Min. Min is friendly with everyone. Rats overrun the farmhouse, so they buy a little cat, named Mu, to deal with that problem. The neighbor opines that Mu and Min can’t possibly get along, but they do, playing hide-and-seek together in the yard and sleeping wrapped around each other. As they grow up, however, they drift into a surly standoff. For a long time, the two always fight, but then something happens that changes everything: while chasing a mouse, Mu falls into a water tank and can’t get out. Min runs for help, and the farmer’s able to save the cat from drowning. From then on, Min and Mu give each other a respectfully wide berth. Now they can learn once again to be friends, the farmer muses. Shen Shixi’s subtle message, presented with a light touch, may elude younger readers, as the resolution does not look like what most kids understand as friendship, but it will leave them thinking about détente. Shen Yuanyuan’s illustrations are offbeat and attractive, featuring solid human figures and plenty of compositional motion and humor.
A provocative model of amity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-76036-034-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Starfish Bay
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor
Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.
The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
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