Equal parts counting book, nature book and ideal read-aloud fodder, this is a beauty of an offering from a familiar team.
Move over very hungry caterpillar—10 little caterpillars have arrived.
Martin’s posthumous release rests in illustrator Ehlert’s capable hands, resulting in a picture book that delivers on his reputation as a master of engaging, rhythmic, rhyming text as it presents some of Ehlert’s best work to date. Arresting jacket art introduces 10 little caterpillars munching on a verdant, heart-shaped leaf against a white background. Open, white backgrounds of interior spreads allow the collages’ vibrant colors to stand out in clean, visually dynamic spreads that invite readers to pore over the flora, other creatures and the caterpillars themselves who populate the pages. Each caterpillar from the jacket gets its own spread, with one climbing a cabbage head, another carried off to school in a jar and another falling into the sea. The 10th caterpillar, however, becomes a butterfly in a satisfying, if predictable, culmination of the verse. But wait—there’s more! Concluding pages identify each caterpillar in sequence, provide readers with information about what they eat and reveal the kinds of moths and butterflies that result from their metamorphoses.
Equal parts counting book, nature book and ideal read-aloud fodder, this is a beauty of an offering from a familiar team. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4424-3385-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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