Visceral illustrations give an incongruously disturbing feel to an otherwise charming tale.
An enthusiastic pig gets more than he can swallow in this folksy cautionary tale.
In a small Newfoundland town, a trio of hardworking fishermen are treated to a hearty meal of stew and dumplings. A chaotic chain of events ensues when a fisherman tosses a dumpling away. It’s caught in midair by Ignatius, an opportunistic pig, but the dumpling becomes lodged in his throat. Terrified and in pain, Ignatius escapes his pen, then makes a break for the ocean in the hopes of cooling his burning throat. The path to relief is not an easy one, and along the way Ignatius encounters many obtrusive townspeople. Pies go flying, laundry is entangled, and a cow and an old lady are nearly toppled, but Ignatius is determined to find relief. Finally, he’s knocked flat after slipping on some kelp, which dislodges the dumpling and saves poor Ignatius. Though this story is reminiscent of beloved folktale-esque stories such as Tomie dePaola’s Strega Nona (1975), with its emphasis on scenery and townspeople, the illustrations are unsettling. Evocative word choices (“scalding hot lump of gluey dough” and Ignatius’ “soundless terror”), combined with Tomova’s decision to highlight Ignatius’ irritated throat with pops of red, make many pictures appear gruesome and frightening; at times he appears to be bleeding from the mouth. All human characters in the book present white.
Visceral illustrations give an incongruously disturbing feel to an otherwise charming tale. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: March 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781998802081
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Running the Goat
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 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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Lively fun with animal friends.
Has Plum’s pep deserted him?
Several animals from the Athensville Zoo are on their way to visit an elementary school. Overconfident Itch the ningbing (an Australian marsupial), unaware that zookeeper Lizzie will be doing all the talking, looks forward to “lecturing eager young minds.” Plum, the usually chipper peacock, on the other hand, is anxious—maybe the schoolchildren won’t like him or he’ll get lost. So when they arrive at the school to find the students have been sent home due to a blizzard, Plum is relieved. The animals are left in a school gym for the night until three self-important class mice free them. Itch heads for the library to meet the learned turtle, but Plum reluctantly explores with his friends. When his anxiety peaks, they reassure him, and when the mice reject Meg, another peacock, as “borrrring” and uncool, they buoy her as well before everyone comes together to save Itch, who finds himself outside and stranded in a snowdrift. Unlike Leave It to Plum (2022), this is not a mystery, and the relationship focus shifts from Lizzie to the rodents, but the pace is brisk, and sequel seekers will be pleased to revisit familiar characters (if dismayed that Itch’s longing for knowledge leads to his downfall). In Phelan’s engaging grayscale pen-and-wash illustrations, Lizzie has short curly hair; text and art cue her as Latine.
Lively fun with animal friends. (how to draw Plum) (Chapter book. 7-10)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-06-307920-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
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