Contains a glow entirely of its own making. Catch it!
A paean to that huge globe in the sky.
“Good golden sun, / where have you been? / We’ve been waiting in the dark, / eager for your glow again.” Relying on gentle soft rhymes, an unseen narrator poses a series of questions to the sun. “Do you think about the scary things that sometimes lie in wait?” “Won’t you lend me some milk or meat? / Won’t you help to pull the plow?” Wenzel’s signature art, constructed out of cut paper, watercolor, acrylic, colored pencil, and crayon and digitally rendered, fits his text perfectly. The pop of the golden sun on each page serves as a distinct reminder about what lies in store. Though this isn’t an informational science tale, Wenzel’s art nevertheless highlights how energy from the sun passes from creature to creature. It might begin with a bee taking sustenance from flowers (which, notably, grow thanks to the energy of the sun). That bee then creates honey, which is eaten by a bear. After biting the bear, a mosquito is devoured by a bird, who in turn drops an egg, which is eaten by a mouse. The path of the sun’s energy—conveyed through a golden glow bathing one animal or another—never truly ceases. Readers will delight in tracing the sun’s path and all that it’s sure to contain.
Contains a glow entirely of its own making. Catch it! (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9780316512633
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: tomorrow
Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
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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