With its short, rhythmic text and its rich, embellished, shiny pages with animals, flowers, and trees just waiting to be...
It’s a dark and stormy night, with wind and thunder and lightning—even the river is rising up—and all the baby animals are scared.
Mama Elephant, big and comforting and knowledgeable, tells the little ones about each source of their fear and assures them several times that “You’re safe with me.” When the baby animals whimper because of the wind, she patiently explains: “He’s an old friend of the forest. He brings us seeds from faraway lands.” When the loris asks about the thunder’s noise, Mama Elephant takes the animals’ fears away by telling them that Thunder is “groaning from the weight of the rain.” In a little while “she will turn as fluffy as cotton flowers.” She explains: “Lightning sparkles in the sky when clouds collide.” The explanations are not meant to be scientific but rather poetic and comforting in a lullaby mode. The repetitive structure and lovely language are soothing, but it is the images that are outstanding. Although all the animals featured are found in India, the text is not based on a specific traditional tale, but the intricate, deeply colored digital images, formed with many dots and geometric shapes, evoke kalamkari textile techniques.
With its short, rhythmic text and its rich, embellished, shiny pages with animals, flowers, and trees just waiting to be discovered, this is a reassuring yet inventive bedtime book. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-911373-29-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lantana
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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