A posh performance to read aloud or alone.
Using rhyming couplets set on clean, bright pages, Stockdale introduces 18 spectacular birds from around the world, imagining their plumage as clothes. The opening couplet reminds readers that all birds are “decked out in feathers.” A concluding paragraph reinforces the concept—only birds have feathers. Even the endpapers show feathers. From the European bee-eater (found in Africa, Europe, and western Asia) to Central and South America’s scarlet macaw, these striking birds pose in acrylic paintings, each resplendent in saturated colors and accompanied by its own imagined self-description. A suit, a scarf, an apron, even a fan, a crown, a train—these birds wear 18 different pieces of clothing or fashion accessories. The clever comparisons suggest a new way to see and remember these species. Some are familiar to U.S.–based readers (starling, cardinal, flicker) and some less so (marvellous spatuletail and resplendent quetzal). Three different birds of paradise show off astonishing tails. While some vocabulary might be challenging for a fledgling reader, the smoothly written couplets follow a predictable pattern (one long sentence, two short) and are set in a large font. As in Fantastic Flowers (2017), Bring on the Birds (2011), and other earlier works, the writer supplies thumbnails in the backmatter, with text identifying each bird, noting generally where it might be found, and explaining a bit more about its remarkable features. There’s even a match-the-colors-and-patterns puzzle.
A posh performance to read aloud or alone. (Informational picture book. 2-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68263-128-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
Simple, encouraging text, charming photographs, straightforward, unpretentious diversity, and adorable animals—what’s not to...
This entry-level early reader/picture book pairs children with farm animals.
Using a simple, effective template—a full-page photograph on the recto page and a bordered spot photo above the text on the verso—Rotner delivers an amiable picture book that presents racially and ethnically diverse kids interacting (mostly in the cuddling department) with the adult and baby animals typically found on a farm. Chickens, chicks, cats, kittens, dogs, puppies, pigs, piglets, cows, and calves are all represented. While a couple of double-page spreads show the larger adult animals—pigs and cows—without a child, most of the rest portray a delighted child hugging a compliant critter. The text, simple and repetitive, changes only the name for the animal depicted in the photo on that spread: “I like the cat”; “I like the piglet.” In this way, reading comprehension for new readers is supported in an enjoyable, appealing way, since the photo of the animal reinforces the new word. It’s hard to go wrong combining cute kids with adorable animals, but special kudos must be given for the very natural way Rotner has included diversity—it’s especially gratifying to see diversity normalized and validated early, at the same time that reading comprehension is taught.
Simple, encouraging text, charming photographs, straightforward, unpretentious diversity, and adorable animals—what’s not to like? (Picture book/early reader. 2-6)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3833-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on.
Sharpson offers so-fish-ticated readers a heads up about the true terror of the seas.
The title says it all. Our unseen narrator is just fine with other animals: mammals. Reptiles. Even birds. But fish? Don’t trust them! First off, the rules always seem to change with fish. Some live in fresh water; some reside in salt water. Some have gills, while others have lungs. You can never see what they’re up to, since they hang out underwater, and they’re always eating those poor, innocent crabs. Soon, the narrator introduces readers to Jeff, a vacant-eyed yellow fish—but don’t be fooled! Jeff’s “the craftiest fish of all.” All fish are, apparently, hellbent on world domination, the narrator warns. “DON’T TRUST FISH!” Finally, at the tail end, we get a sly glimpse of our unreliable narrator. Readers needn’t be ichthyologists to appreciate Sharpson’s meticulous comic timing. (“Ships always sink at sea. They never sink on land. Isn’t that strange?”) His delightful text, filled to the brim with jokes that read aloud brilliantly, pairs perfectly with Santat’s art, which shifts between extreme realism and goofy hilarity. He also fills the book with his own clever gags (such as an image of Gilligan’s Island’s S.S. Minnow going down and a bottle of sauce labeled “Surly Chik’n Srir’racha’r”).
A ribald and uproarious warning to those unschooled in fishy goings-on. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780593616673
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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