Doggie devotees will be clamoring for further adventures.
A corgi sets out to find the right career.
“Maxine had always known she was talented. She just didn’t know what her talent was.” Searching the internet, the perky pooch learns about dogs with jobs and decides to follow suit. First she talks to her best friend, Lady, who works as a lifeguard at the beach. Maxine is sure she could be the fluffiest lifeguard in the world—although she forgets something important: her aversion to swimming. Next, she consults her friend Toby, a guard dog who watches over the chickens on a farm. Maxine is certain she could be the fiercest chicken protector on the planet…but the wolves laugh at her tiny, fluffy body and her less-than-impressive bark. Maxine considers her other working friends—Rosie the sled dog, Dale the racing dog—but knows she wouldn’t be well suited to those jobs, either. Then she realizes that they’re all doing what they love. What does Maxine love? She enjoys playing funny characters and shaking her fluffy butt…could that be a career? Turns out the answer is yes, and Maxine becomes a stand-up comedian! Based on the authors’ actual dog, who has a huge social media following, Maxine’s a winning protagonist who learns a sound lesson: Following your passion is a surefire recipe for success. Batori’s digitally created illustrations of adorable employed cartoon pooches are a perfect comedic match.
Doggie devotees will be clamoring for further adventures. (Picture book. 2-7)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9780593642917
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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