It will be the very stubborn couch potato who doesn’t set out, walking stick and bag of essentials in hand, to explore after...
Two intrepid explorers celebrate their love of the great outdoors.
On facing pages, the parallel adventures of a young boy and an anthropomorphized bear cub unfold. Both are outfitted as the adventurers they clearly are, sporting bags of essentials (food, light sources, recording devices) and walking sticks, and they each take turns telling the tale. “I love to explore! / It’s my favorite thing to do! // There are so many neat things to see…. / And so many strange things to find….” Each has heard and dismissed parental warnings: they are explorers, and explorers are always prepared for anything. Anything except perhaps running into each other in the woods. But their fear doesn’t last long, and they revel in sharing their adventures. And when the shadows lengthen, they record the memory—with camera and cherry juice on stone—of the “greatest explorer I ever met” and head home. Atkinson’s digital illustrations aren’t far off from those found in animated movies—full of colors and textures and backgrounds that bring nature to life for readers. Postures and facial expressions speak to the wonder both the bear and the boy, dark-haired and with a medium skin tone, feel in the things they discover.
It will be the very stubborn couch potato who doesn’t set out, walking stick and bag of essentials in hand, to explore after reading this. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-2340-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
Still, preschoolers will likely savor this mouthwatering treatment of a subject that looms large in many early school...
The familiar theme of the challenges facing a new kid in town is given an original treatment by photographer Border in this book of photos of three-dimensional objects in a simple modeled landscape.
Peanut Butter is represented by a slice of white bread spread with the popular condiment. The other characters in the story—a hamburger with a pair of hot dogs in tow, a bowl of alphabet soup, a meatball jumping a rope of spaghetti, a carton of French fries and a pink cupcake—are represented by skillfully crafted models of these foods, anthropomorphized using simple wire construction. Rejected by each character in turn in his search for playmates, Peanut Butter discovers in the end that Jelly is his true match (not Cupcake, as the title suggests), perhaps because she is the only one who looks like him, being a slice of white bread spread with jelly. The friendly foods end up happily playing soccer together. Some parents may have trouble with the unabashedly happy depiction of carbs and American junk food (no carrots or celery sticks in this landscape), and others may find themselves troubled by the implication that friendship across difference is impossible.
Still, preschoolers will likely savor this mouthwatering treatment of a subject that looms large in many early school experiences. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16773-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
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