A gentle, visually engaging appeal to raise awareness about the rewards of pet adoption.
A little boy has his heart set on adopting a flamingo for a pet in Witty’s picture book.
“Why is the sky blue?” “Why doesn’t the sun smoke if it’s so hot?” In this quirky picture book, a little boy named Chris asks so many “why? why? why?” questions that his parents can’t keep up. Would a pet divert their son’s attention? At the animal shelter, Chris knows just what kind of pet he wants: a flamingo, or as the youngster refers to it, a “falingmo,” because it can stand on one leg in a yoga pose, has pink feathers (Chris’ favorite color), and eats Chris’ favorite food (shrimp). Sadly, there are no flamingos, but several cats and dogs need homes. Will Chris find that his perfect pet was waiting for him all along? The author, whose biographical note reveals that the book’s inspiration was her own family’s animal adoption story, imbues Chris’ choice with touching warmth and a child’s understandable logic when retrofitting his reasons for wanting a flamingo to the furry pet that ultimately captures his heart. Prolific illustrator Garland reflects the book’s tone with soft colors, expressive characters, and comic touches. Chris imagines his flamingo wearing sunglasses, lounging on a floaty, and holding a shrimp cocktail.
A gentle, visually engaging appeal to raise awareness about the rewards of pet adoption.Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9781998816897
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Miriam Laundry Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 4, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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