Plenty of opportunities for storytime jumps and laughs.
Sneaky cows dupe a farmer.
Farmer George’s farm is fairly ordinary. Pigs wallow in the muck, and sheep graze in the meadow. All the animals seem to make their expected, predictable sounds. But when it comes to the cows…they are nowhere to be found! Farmer George is flummoxed, asking readers, “Where did all the cows go?” After an aptly placed page turn, the cows jump out from behind a tree, yelling, “BOO!” Farmer George is not amused. “NO, NO, NO! Pigs go oink, sheep go baa, but cows do not go BOO. Cows go MOO! Please try to get it right.” And the simple, merry narrative picks back up, going through all the mechanical sounds heard on a farm (truck, tractor), but the cows tellingly disappear. One page turn later, out they pop, scaring the bewhiskered, White-presenting farmer yet again. Readers will delight in the mischievous bovines’ antics as they perform scare after scare on the exasperated farmer. And even when Farmer George thinks he’s got one up on them, they still have the upper hand, er, hoof. Blunt’s illustrations make the most of the slapstick, the double-page spreads when the cows jump out at Farmer George dominated by diagonals that emphasize the chaos. The story’s pacing might take some practice for maximum comedic effect as a read-aloud, but the droll humor found in this British import, especially the ever annoyed farmer, will keep readers giggling.
Plenty of opportunities for storytime jumps and laughs. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72843-891-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Andersen Press USA
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
As ephemeral as a valentine.
Daywalt and Jeffers’ wandering crayons explore love.
Each double-page spread offers readers a vision of one of the anthropomorphic crayons on the left along with the statement “Love is [color].” The word love is represented by a small heart in the appropriate color. Opposite, childlike crayon drawings explain how that color represents love. So, readers learn, “love is green. / Because love is helpful.” The accompanying crayon drawing depicts two alligators, one holding a recycling bin and the other tossing a plastic cup into it, offering readers two ways of understanding green. Some statements are thought-provoking: “Love is white. / Because sometimes love is hard to see,” reaches beyond the immediate image of a cat’s yellow eyes, pink nose, and black mouth and whiskers, its white face and body indistinguishable from the paper it’s drawn on, to prompt real questions. “Love is brown. / Because sometimes love stinks,” on the other hand, depicted by a brown bear standing next to a brown, squiggly turd, may provoke giggles but is fundamentally a cheap laugh. Some of the color assignments have a distinctly arbitrary feel: Why is purple associated with the imagination and pink with silliness? Fans of The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) hoping for more clever, metaliterary fun will be disappointed by this rather syrupy read.
As ephemeral as a valentine. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9268-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their...
Less ambitious than Chris Gall’s widely known Dinotrux (2009) and sequels, this British import systematically relegates each dinosaur/construction-equipment hybrid to its most logical job.
The title figures are introduced as bigger than both diggers and dinosaurs, and rhyming text and two construction-helmeted kids show just what these creatures are capable of. Each diggersaur has a specific job to do and a distinct sound effect. The dozersaurus moves rocks with a “SCRAAAAPE!!!” while the rollersaurus flattens lumps with a cheery “TOOT TOOT!!” Each diggersaur is numbered, with 12 in all, allowing this to be a counting book on the sly. As the diggersaurs (not all of which dig) perform jobs that regular construction equipment can do, albeit on a larger scale, there is no particular reason why any of them should have dinosaurlike looks other than just ’cause. Peppy computer art tries valiantly to attract attention away from the singularly unoriginal text. “Diggersaurs dig with bites so BIG, / each SCOOP creates a crater. // They’re TOUGH and STRONG / with necks so long— / they’re super EXCAVATORS!” Far more interesting are the two human characters, a white girl and a black boy, that flit about the pictures offering commentary and action. Much of the fun of the book can be found in trying to spot them on every two-page spread.
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their dino/construction kicks. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-4779-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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