Not really, really, really a must-have for the potty bookshelf.
Clayton Parker really, really, really should’ve tried to pee before getting on the bus for a field trip.
Rhyming text with a sometimes-stumbling singsong cadence recounts how the protagonist, a boy of color, didn’t think he had to pee when he boarded the school bus to go to the zoo. By the time he arrives there with his class, however, he’s desperate. A brief interlude with Dr. Bladder explains: “See, when you drink some juice, let’s say, once it has left your mouth, / it goes down your esophagus and keeps on heading SOUTH. / It passes through your STOMACH and your KIDNEYS and then soon, / it fills your BLADDER up with urine, just like a balloon.” Clayton frantically scrambles around the zoo, encountering various animals and facing myriad obstacles before he finally finds an open restroom where he can relieve himself. There are some humorous moments that the amiable cartoon art attempts to exploit, but the climax veers to an older readership than the preschool/early-elementary crew in its use of simile: “He stepped into the stall and then let nature take its course. / (I’ve heard his flow was like that of a massive Clydesdale horse!).” The moral of the story—that one should try to use the bathroom before going on a trip—is reinforced just in case kids don’t get it. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not really, really, really a must-have for the potty bookshelf. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4863-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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