Make Way for . . . MORE Ducklings! And a delightful trio they are. When three duckling brothers get lost while crossing a forest to find their mother, the little one complains: “I want my mama. My legs feel all wobbly.” His older brothers teach him the “One Step.” He practices and they dub him a new name “Little One Step.” And so he marches on, head down, one foot in front of the other, eventually leading the way home. The expressive, sketchy watercolor illustrations are precisely in step with the simple language. The palette of pale yellow and tangerine brushed against an expanse of white space effectively creates an airy, breezy feeling and aerial perspectives convey Little One Step’s small, intimidated feeling. A wonderful example of unity in a picture book, the pictures and text mesh perfectly and the artwork extends the storyline (throughout the scenes the phrase “one step” is repeated and handwritten, following Little One Step as he forges on). The clean, spacious design underscores the spirit and perseverance of the little duckling and the tale will encourage children to go ahead and take that first step. James’s bird form is familiar from his Birdwatchers (2002); with just a few lines he creates ducks with panache. This book has the classic feeling of a modern day Make Way for Ducklings; it should become a favorite for lap sharing and afterward, kids demonstrating their own steps. Totally charming. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-7636-2070-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2003
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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