Astronomically goofy fun.
Agent Binky, a self-appointed Space Cat, undertakes another well-meaning but ludicrous mission.
Don’t be fooled by appearances—Binky isn’t your average suburban feline. He’s part of P.U.R.S.T. (Pets of the Universe Ready for Space Travel), a group of animals sworn to protect earthlings from extraterrestrial interlopers. As the book opens, we find Binky cuddling his beloved stuffed mouse, Ted, and reveling in tummy tickles and butt scratches from his loving, tan-skinned human family. Bliss is brief: “Citrus likealotus. Code name: Fruit Fly” soon invades. Springing into action, Binky carefully places Ted against a screen door—just steps from a banana peel—and begins to chase the “alien” fly. Surprise! Binky slips, launching himself and the screen into “outer space” (the backyard). The cat is swiftly brought back inside by Big Human, so quickly that Binky leaves Ted behind. It falls to Loo the fish to alert Binky that Ted’s still “trapped in outer space” beneath a “floating alien spaceship” (a hive of buzzing bees). Though Binky panics, the P.U.R.S.T. agents assemble, and the usual elaborate preparations and miscalculations ensue. A TV tie-in with the series Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe, this picture book features detailed color cartoons that underscore the characters’ grandiose efforts and farcical failures. Their comical ineptitude not only will elicit giggles—it will also allow young audiences to feel amazingly competent by comparison.
Astronomically goofy fun. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781525312649
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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