What are young listeners to feel upon finishing this story? Unsatisfied—and maybe even insecure.
Goodnight Moon meets “The Three Bears” in this tale of a robber fox.
Sporting a blue turtleneck, this bushy-tailed thief approaches an elegant home with columns and a mansard roof (a Georgian town house, according to the illustrator’s dedication). The fox greets objects and creatures by name: “Hello, door. Hello, house. / Hello, mat. Hello, mouse.” Once inside, the intruder enjoys a snack, swings through the parlor on the chandelier, and leaves a trail of broken china and debris. What isn’t nailed down goes into an increasingly bulging satchel—porcelain, silver, jewelry, and paintings, cut from their frames. The palette is predominantly turquoise with burnt orange and red accents; the feel of the mischief is reminiscent of Warner Bros. cartoons. Just as the fox is about to make a getaway, the three bear homeowners return, and a confusing chase ensues, the characters appearing as orange silhouettes running through a cross-section of the house. Mother Bear finally tosses the culprit out the window. The fox lands, empty-handed but gleeful, eyeing an even more palatial setting replete with fountains and formal gardens. This plot and conclusion produce discomfort. In “The Three Bears,” while Goldilocks does enter a home not her own, she is more naughty child than thief. When found, she is frightened enough never to be seen repeating the offense.
What are young listeners to feel upon finishing this story? Unsatisfied—and maybe even insecure. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0536-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is a tremendously moving story, but some people will be moved only on the second reading, after they’ve Googled “How to...
A hug shouldn’t require an instruction manual—but some do.
A porcupine can frighten even the largest animal. In this picture book, a bear and a deer, along with a small rabbit, each run away when they hear eight simple words and their name: “I need a hug. Will you cuddle me,…?” As they flee, each utters a definitive refusal that rhymes with their name. The repetitive structure gives Blabey plenty of opportunities for humor, because every animal responds to the question with an outlandish, pop-eyed expression of panic. But the understated moments are even funnier. Each animal takes a moment to think over the request, and the drawings are nuanced enough that readers can see the creatures react with slowly building anxiety or, sometimes, a glassy stare. These silent reaction shots not only show exquisite comic timing, but they make the rhymes in the text feel pleasingly subtle by delaying the final line in each stanza. The story is a sort of fable about tolerance. It turns out that a porcupine can give a perfectly adequate hug when its quills are flat and relaxed, but no one stays around long enough to find out except for an animal that has its own experiences with intolerance: a snake. It’s an apt, touching moral, but the climax may confuse some readers as they try to figure out the precise mechanics of the embrace.
This is a tremendously moving story, but some people will be moved only on the second reading, after they’ve Googled “How to pet a porcupine.” (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Jan. 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-29710-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A funny tale about stress and an ever upping ante, with a comforting end.
Something is preventing Owl from falling asleep.
Owl leans back against his white pillow and headboard. “Squeek!” says something underneath the bed. Owl’s never heard that sound before, so he fastens his pink bathrobe and answers the front door. Nobody. It must be the wind; back to bed. Bidding himself goodnight, he climbs into bed—and hears the noise again. Time after time, he pops out of bed seeking the squeaker. Is it in the cupboard? He empties the shelves. Under the floor? He pulls up his floorboards. As Owl’s actions ratchet up—he destroys the roof and smashes the walls, all in search of the squeak—so does his anxiety. Not until he hunkers down in bed under the night sky (his bed is now outdoors, because the house’s roof and walls are gone), frantically clutching his pillow, does he see what readers have seen all along: a small, gray mouse. In simple illustrations with black outlines, textured coloring, and foreshortened perspective, Pizzoli plays mischievously with mouse placement. Sometimes the mouse is behind Owl or just out of his sightline; other times, the mouse is on a solid, orange-colored page across the spread from Owl, which removes him from Owl’s scene in a rather postmodern manner. Is the mouse toying with Owl? Who knows?
A funny tale about stress and an ever upping ante, with a comforting end. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-1275-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
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