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ADVENTURE ANNIE GOES TO WORK

It’s Adventure Annie to the rescue! Clad in her crimson adventure cape, matching red boots, blue skirt and yellow sparkle tights, Adventure Annie, superheroine extraordinaire, is unfazed when Mommy tells her that instead of playing this Saturday, they’ll be going to the office for a Big Report Treasure Hunt to find a missing document. This energetic tale, peppered with superhero-like phrases (“I ziggle up and down the halls. I zaggle round corners and under chairs”), is well-matched by Wummer’s colorful, child-friendly pencil-and-watercolor pictures, which are filled with movement and zip. They show Annie armed with a vivid imagination and a no-nonsense strategy, as she sets out to save the day by drawing a map and ferreting out the report by methodically searching through a sea of manila envelopes and the jungle of the copy-room floor. A strong mother-and-daughter story with an exuberant lead, this uplifting selection is full of everyday fun as well as being a nice depiction of the usefulness of organizational and map-making skills. A winning choice for both classroom and home. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-8037-3233-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2009

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A THOUSAND YEARS

A sweet notion that falls flat.

A hit song reimagined as a book about parental love.

Featured in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn—Part 1, Perri’s “A Thousand Years” deals with the speaker’s fear of romantic love. In picture-book form, it explores a parent’s unwavering love for a child, who grows from an infant into a toddler over the course of the narrative. The caregiver expresses awe when the youngster learns to stand and fear that the child might fall while beginning to walk. “I have spent every day waiting for you,” the parent says. “Darling, don’t be afraid.” What the child might fear isn’t clear from the joyful balloon- and rainbow-filled illustrations. The story borders on cloying, and words that might work when sung and accompanied by music don’t sound fresh on the page: “Time goes by. / You grow ever stronger as you fly.” The refrain, however, is a lovely sentiment: “I have loved you for a thousand years. / I’ll love you for a thousand more.” Perri’s legion of fans may flock to this version, illustrated by Ruiz with sparkling stars, bubbles, and big-eyed toddlers, but it doesn’t hold together as a narrative or an ode, as it’s billed, and it’s a long way from the original song. The child is tan-skinned, the parent is lighter-skinned, and other characters are diverse.

A sweet notion that falls flat. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: April 1, 2025

ISBN: 9780593622599

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025

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BECAUSE YOUR DADDY LOVES YOU

Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: May 23, 2005

ISBN: 0-618-00361-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005

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