Not the most original tale but sweet and engaging nonetheless.
“It was a Tuesday like any other in Turtletown”—until it wasn’t.
Tootie wants nothing more than someone to play with, but none of the other turtles are interested in tag! Tootie has never gotten to play her favorite game with anyone. When a strange little creature falls from the sky, Tootie’s day takes a sudden turn for the weird—and wonderful. Tootie and the newly named Teeny have a lot in common and quickly become best friends. But Teeny is different. So different, in fact, she might not be a turtle at all. Will Tootie be able to convince her that different can be good? The central message about accepting difference feels a bit contrived, but it’s admittedly very funny (and occasionally heart-rending) to watch what’s definitely a bird navigate trying to be a turtle. In one scene, Tootie takes Teeny to the shell store, where Teeny tries on fancy shells, mossy shells, spiky shells, and more; later, Teeny grows even more feathers, and the pair try to cover them up. A limited palette and minimal detail allow the expressions and individuality of the characters to shine. These dynamic illustrations carry the story, whereas the occasionally stilted dialogue and bubbly interjections serve it less well.
Not the most original tale but sweet and engaging nonetheless. (Graphic fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2024
ISBN: 9781524880668
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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