Not your garden-variety sibling story despite a familiar theme.
Spring has sprung, and with it comes new beginnings and unexpected trials for two young snails.
New siblings can be an unfortunate tribulation, even in the buggy world of this brightly colored picture book. Life unfolds nicely for Marigold, a big-eyed young snail, until the birth of her sister, Daisy. No longer the center of attention, Marigold resents this little intrusion, who doesn’t seem nearly as cute as everyone thinks; instead, she ruins everything, even Marigold’s favorite toy. Disgusted and resentful, Marigold sets out to be alone…until she finds herself in a pickle. When Daisy turns up to help out her big sis, Marigold realizes maybe siblings aren’t so bad after all. Loose, watercolor-styled illustrations feature quirky yet lovable gastropods and insects, all endowed with big, expressive eyes, and a bug’s-eye view into a spring garden, complete with leafy green endpapers, which amplify the floral theme. While Marigold’s sophisticated vocabulary will prompt good discussions of words and their meanings, the lively speech balloons offer opportunities for humorous voice impressions for added read-aloud enjoyment. Good for new older siblings who will recognize Marigold’s frustration but not be too old to appreciate Daisy’s pluck.
Not your garden-variety sibling story despite a familiar theme. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2293-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
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
Sweet.
A caregiving bear shares with its cub how love has defined their relationship from the first moment and through the years as the cub has grown.
With rhymes and a steady rhythm that are less singsong-y than similar books, Stansbie seems to have hit a sweet spot for this offering on the I-love-you-always shelf. Readers follow the adult and child as they share special moments together—a sunset, a splash in a pond, climbing a tree, a snuggle—and the adult tells the child that the love it feels has only grown. Stansbie also takes care not to put promises in the adult bear’s mouth that can’t be delivered, acknowledging that physical proximity is not always possible: “Wherever you are, / even when we’re apart… // I’ll love you forever / with all of my heart.” The large trim size helps the sweet illustrations shine; their emphasis is on the close relationship between parent and child. Shaped peekaboo windows offer glimpses of preceding and succeeding pages, images and text carefully placed to work whatever the context. While the die cuts on the interior pages will not hold up to rough handling, they do add whimsy and delight to the book as a whole: “And now that you’re bigger, / you make my heart sing. / My / beautiful / wonderful / magical / thing.” Those last three adjectives are positioned in leaf-shaped cutouts, the turn of the page revealing the roly-poly cub in a pile of leaves, three formed by the die-cuts. Opposite, three vignettes show the cub appreciating the “beautiful,” the “wonderful,” and the “magical.”
Sweet. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68412-910-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Silver Dolphin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
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