Rush out and treat newly independent readers to this heartwarming tale that brings a satisfying end to the arc of Mouse and...
Mouse and Mole are best friends, but with Valentine’s Day coming soon, each has a peculiar feeling of butterflies in the stomach when thinking of the other. Could their relationship be changing in this season of love?
As Valentine’s Day nears, Mouse and Mole get together to decorate cards. Mouse is good at making a list of friends and writing the words, while Mole’s specialty is cutting out paper hearts and sprinkling glitter over glue to create a sparkly message. When the buddies go out to deliver the cards, Mole forgets his hat and tells Mouse he’ll catch up. Then during lunch, Mole must go find the waiter to alter his order. After each absence, Mouse receives a surprise from her “secret valentine.” While she tries to find out who it is, Mole creates a most romantic gift, with chocolates, rose petals and an invitation to the Valentine dance. Mouse comes home to discover it and its special message just in time. Yee masterfully builds delicious anticipation throughout the four chapters. His spot illustrations in litho pencil and gouache not only evoke scenes of tender friendship, but also cue readers on the pacing and the new vocabulary they are encountering.
Rush out and treat newly independent readers to this heartwarming tale that brings a satisfying end to the arc of Mouse and Mole’s relationship. (valentine instructions) (Early reader. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-88719-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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