Young readers who are learning to ski may enjoy this bunny slope; others, head for a black diamond.
A bunny asks readers to help manipulate the book so it can hit the slopes.
Before one can ski, one needs snow. Readers must shake the book—no, harder—to make the flakes fall, then tap the top to level out the mound that’s fallen on the white bunny with its red scarf and black skis. Children can guess what’s coming: a tilt so the rabbit can ski. But this bunny doesn’t want a bunny slope—tilt it more! It’s skiing all right, until the cliff that lines up perfectly with the gutter sends it sprawling. Turning the book 180 degrees catches it in a tree, and another 180-degree turn puts it back on the ground and ready for another try at that cliff. It masters that and manages to jump the first die-cut hole, but while it’s gloating, it misses the second and falls into…its den, where mom is waiting with some hot chocolate (and some for readers, too). Metabooks are all the rage, and to really stand out on this increasingly crowded shelf, authors must up the game of the master, Hervé Tullet of Press Here (2011) fame, though even Tullet has had some duds in this arena. Rueda’s tale doesn’t quite measure up, though her bunny is adorably expressive, her scenes are simple and easy-to-read, and that gutter-cliff is a masterstroke of design.
Young readers who are learning to ski may enjoy this bunny slope; others, head for a black diamond. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4521-4197-8
Page Count: 60
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016
A funny tale about stress and an ever upping ante, with a comforting end.
Something is preventing Owl from falling asleep.
Owl leans back against his white pillow and headboard. “Squeek!” says something underneath the bed. Owl’s never heard that sound before, so he fastens his pink bathrobe and answers the front door. Nobody. It must be the wind; back to bed. Bidding himself goodnight, he climbs into bed—and hears the noise again. Time after time, he pops out of bed seeking the squeaker. Is it in the cupboard? He empties the shelves. Under the floor? He pulls up his floorboards. As Owl’s actions ratchet up—he destroys the roof and smashes the walls, all in search of the squeak—so does his anxiety. Not until he hunkers down in bed under the night sky (his bed is now outdoors, because the house’s roof and walls are gone), frantically clutching his pillow, does he see what readers have seen all along: a small, gray mouse. In simple illustrations with black outlines, textured coloring, and foreshortened perspective, Pizzoli plays mischievously with mouse placement. Sometimes the mouse is behind Owl or just out of his sightline; other times, the mouse is on a solid, orange-colored page across the spread from Owl, which removes him from Owl’s scene in a rather postmodern manner. Is the mouse toying with Owl? Who knows?
A funny tale about stress and an ever upping ante, with a comforting end. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-1275-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
It’s a bit hard to dance, or count, to this beat.
Dinos that love to move and groove get children counting from one to 10—and perhaps moving to the beat.
Beginning with a solo bop by a female dino (she has eyelashes, doncha know), the dinosaur dance party begins. Each turn of the page adds another dino and a change in the dance genre: waltz, country line dancing, disco, limbo, square dancing, hip-hop, and swing. As the party would be incomplete without the moonwalk, the T. Rex does the honors…and once they are beyond their initial panic at his appearance, the onlookers cheer wildly. The repeated refrain on each spread allows for audience participation, though it doesn’t easily trip off the tongue: “They hear a swish. / What’s this? / One more? / One more dino on the floor.” Some of the prehistoric beasts are easily identifiable—pterodactyl, ankylosaurus, triceratops—but others will be known only to the dino-obsessed; none are identified, other than T-Rex. Packed spreads filled with psychedelically colored dinos sporting blocks of color, stripes, or polka dots (and infectious looks of joy) make identification even more difficult, to say nothing of counting them. Indeed, this fails as a counting primer: there are extra animals (and sometimes a grumpy T-Rex) in the backgrounds, and the next dino to join the party pokes its head into the frame on the page before. Besides all that, most kids won’t get the dance references.
It’s a bit hard to dance, or count, to this beat. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1598-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
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