An action-packed introduction to a young lemur and his family that might not be very different from readers’ own.
A playful story set in a faraway place about lemurs, love, and family.
It’s hard to miss Little Lemur as the star of this book. In the first image, his large smiling face peers through rainforest foliage and a leaf balances on his head like a jaunty beret. Uncluttered illustrations with stylized, simplified landscapes and solid backgrounds form the backdrop for an active day in Little Lemur’s life. He and the rest of his lemur family have large, expressive eyes, and their striking ringed tails sometimes intertwine to create hearts. Most female lemurs have a flower tucked behind one ear, and Grandma wears glasses, but their behavior is pure lemur. Or it is? Rhyming couplets weave in the facts of Little Lemur’s life (young lemurs are pups, and Little Lemur’s family group is a troop) and allow readers to observe Little Lemur’s day as he is snuggled, fed, and groomed. He nurses and eats figs and crickets. He climbs, tussles, and chases with siblings and cousins, and sometimes he needs help. Readers will have to rotate the book 90 degrees to take in the illustration revealing the dizzying height of the scary cliff where Little Lemur is stranded. Flowing couplets include unusual words for vocabulary building and discussion (tamarind, gambol, tweak, beckon), and creative wordsmithing captures lemur antics (“Auntie beckons Little Lemur to prancity-prance. / The whole troop joins in their jump-jump dance”) and the book’s overriding theme of familial love. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An action-packed introduction to a young lemur and his family that might not be very different from readers’ own. (further facts) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-374-38847-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren.
In talk-show host Fallon and illustrator Ordóñez’s latest picture-book collaboration, an elderly pooch waxes rhapsodic about a life well lived.
Observing Papa sitting in his chair watching TV all day, a young pup says, “I’m starting to think…you don’t do ANYTHING.” So Papa proceeds to list his accomplishments, both big and small, mundane and profound. Some are just a result of being older and physically bigger (being tall enough to reach a high shelf and strong enough to open jars); others include winning a race and performing in a band when he was younger. Eventually, the pup realizes that while Papa may have slowed down in his old age, he’s led a full life. The most satisfying thing about Papa’s life now? Watching his grandchild take center stage: “I can say lots of thoughts / but I choose to be quiet. / I’d rather you discover things and then try it.” Fallon’s straightforward text is sweetly upbeat, though it occasionally lacks flow, forcing incongruous situations together to fit the rhyme scheme (“I cook and I mow, / and I once flew a plane. // I play newspaper puzzles because it’s good for my brain”). Featuring uncluttered, colorful backgrounds, Ordóñez’s child-friendly digital art at times takes on sepia tones, evoking the sense of looking back at old photos or memories. Though the creators tread familiar ground, the love between Papa and his little one is palpable.
A tale of intergenerational bonding to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781250393975
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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