As Capt. Crave says, “Shiver me Shih Tzus!” There’s some fun here
A petless pirate goes on a mission to secure an ideal companion.
When the fearless Capt. Crave fills out the “Think you’re the Perfect Pirate Captain?” quiz his mother sends by bottle, he finds he meets most of the requirements, save “Pet.” (The disability stereotypes “Eye patch,” “Hook,” and “Peg leg” are also criteria.) Consequently, he and his intrepid, diverse crew set forth to find an animal of superior caliber. (Crave is white, his mate is a black woman, and one masculine-looking white pirate wears a pink bathrobe and bunny slippers throughout.) Always making a commotion (“as good pirates should”) wherever they go, they storm a beach, raid a farm, and invade a zoo. Alas, there are lots of animals to discover, but each one is seriously flawed—if not actively aggressive. Ears are pinched. Pants are eaten. Limbs are devoured (fulfilling the “Peg leg” on Crave’s “to-do list”). Fortunately, when the pirates finally visit a pet store, it’s a naughty bird inside that proves to be the perfect captain companion. Rife with buccaneer-speak and salty seadog sentences, Ferry’s text uses repetition to its greatest advantage. Meanwhile, Myers’ thick acrylic and oil paints render both buccaneers and beasts in an attractive angular style while also hiding a multitude of tiny details (keep an eye at all times on the expressive skull on the captain’s hat).
As Capt. Crave says, “Shiver me Shih Tzus!” There’s some fun here . (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7288-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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
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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