The “very kind” lady in this story is modeled after an actual canine philanthropist whom the author/illustrator met in her native Taiwan. In her first effort, Lee has crafted a sweetly simple tale that doesn’t have (or need) much plot, but which does identify all 100 dogs by name, from a big Irish wolfhound named Papa to a little puppy named Bingo, the last-but-not-least who is always trailing behind. Each dog is named individually (and counted in groups) over several double-page spreads, creating exactly the sort of beloved bedtime book that some children latch onto with a passion (and that some parents might resist reading for the 100th time). The elegant woman in the story devotes herself to her dogs, playing with them, feeding them, grooming them, and watching over them at night as they settle down safely on their own pillows and blankets in her large bedroom. Near the end, the kind lady calls all 100 dogs by name, and surely lots of dogged preschoolers will require every one of those names read in order every time the book is read. Lee’s playful, child-like illustrations in watercolor, pencil, and ink bring all the delightfully different doggies to life, and there’s even a special-needs dog with a wheeled cart to help him get around. Creative teachers in the early grades will use this book for counting or “100th day of school” activities, and of course it’s a natural to pair with Gag’s Millions of Cats. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7636-1290-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2001
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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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