A nimble offering for those not quite ready for Jumanji.
The zoo comes to two unsuspecting children when they discover a magical, mysterious box.
Young Erika, perhaps 12, and her younger brother, Patrick, are about to enjoy a night home alone, when, while playing dress-up in the attic, they happen across a curious box. The box—a hatbox with zebra stripes—is clearly labeled “DO NOT OPEN.” Believing that it could be a birthday present or an old, beloved and forgotten toy, the pair disregard the label and tear into it. Imagine their surprise when a full-size ostrich bursts out, followed by an entire menagerie of zoo life. When Erika and Patrick decide to follow the animals, they find themselves in a strange, topsy-turvy zoo and must puzzle out how to get all the animals back into that tiny box. Told through wide, bright panels, this graphic-novel/picture-book hybrid will certainly conjure memories of Chris Van Allsburg’s Jumanji (1981), though Cohn and Steinke’s tale is much less dark and wraps up tidily, with just a shred of lingering unease. Though the story is obviously a fantasy, some readers may wonder why the parents would leave these two kids alone or why the animals would willingly and easily re-enter the box. However, sometimes it’s better to just enjoy the ride and leave all the details to the grown-ups.
A nimble offering for those not quite ready for Jumanji. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-62672-052-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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