The illustrations outshine the weak story and counting practice.
A counting rhyme updated for our times.
Ten little squirrels are playing by a tree. The first asks, “Look what I see!” The second responds with “A man with a dog.” (In the original 1970 book of the rhyme adapted by Martin, the man had a gun instead.) Squirrels three through nine are full of advice about what to do: “The fourth one said, / ‘No, let’s hide in the shade.’ // The fifth one said, / ‘I’m not afraid.’ ” The rollicking verses, similar in bounce to Martin’s famous Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?(1967), keep the pages turning to the climactic 10th squirrel and his gigantic full-spread sneeze, which gains the delighted dog’s attention (“Time for some fun!”) and sends the squirrels off in a flurry of fur, each a distinct color. While the delightful colors and textures of the collaged illustrations will attract readers’ eyes, the counting part leaves a bit to be desired, especially since there are no numerals, and there’s little story to amuse. The 10 squirrels appear all together only at the end, and even then, we see only the arm and the tail of one squirrel, so readers may count only nine. Backmatter includes a web of squirrel facts, each with a question for readers. “Squirrels live on every continent except for Australia and Antarctica. Do squirrels live near you?” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
The illustrations outshine the weak story and counting practice. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-61254-600-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Brown Books Kids
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
As ephemeral as a valentine.
Daywalt and Jeffers’ wandering crayons explore love.
Each double-page spread offers readers a vision of one of the anthropomorphic crayons on the left along with the statement “Love is [color].” The word love is represented by a small heart in the appropriate color. Opposite, childlike crayon drawings explain how that color represents love. So, readers learn, “love is green. / Because love is helpful.” The accompanying crayon drawing depicts two alligators, one holding a recycling bin and the other tossing a plastic cup into it, offering readers two ways of understanding green. Some statements are thought-provoking: “Love is white. / Because sometimes love is hard to see,” reaches beyond the immediate image of a cat’s yellow eyes, pink nose, and black mouth and whiskers, its white face and body indistinguishable from the paper it’s drawn on, to prompt real questions. “Love is brown. / Because sometimes love stinks,” on the other hand, depicted by a brown bear standing next to a brown, squiggly turd, may provoke giggles but is fundamentally a cheap laugh. Some of the color assignments have a distinctly arbitrary feel: Why is purple associated with the imagination and pink with silliness? Fans of The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) hoping for more clever, metaliterary fun will be disappointed by this rather syrupy read.
As ephemeral as a valentine. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9268-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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