A solid start to a new series.
Phenomenal photography, some solid facts and the ever-popular topic of baby animals combine to make the kick-off of Eszterhas’ Eye on the Wild series an auspicious one.
The text follows a newborn gorilla from birth to age 6, the age of maturity, although the majority focuses on her first two years of life. From nestling in her mother’s arms and napping to sucking her thumb and drinking her mother’s milk, the activities of the baby gorilla are sure to bring to readers’ minds the care of a newborn human. Eszterhas strengthens this connection by slightly anthropomorphizing the actions, feelings and intentions of her subjects: “Sitting on Mom’s head gives her a great view and is good fun, too…. One of the baby gorilla’s favorite games is piggyback riding, cruising around on Mom’s back.” Short paragraphs and easy vocabulary make this accessible to children in the early grades, while the photos will enthrall all audiences. Known for her work with newborn animals, wildlife photographer Eszterhas makes good on her reputation. Readers are treated to amazing views of the baby gorilla, her family and her natural habitat. Backmatter offers children more facts about gorillas, along with a website for more information. Publishing concurrently is Cheetah, while Brown Bear and Lion will follow in August.
A solid start to a new series. (Nonfiction. 4-8)Pub Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-84780-299-6
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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