A winning tale of two pals engaged in a safely silly competition.
Two foxes challenge each other and become friends in this beginning reader.
A white fox and a red fox are startled to realize that they’re both named “Fox.” The red fox is determined to show off all of its foxy skills: It’s sneaky, it can do tricks, and it can jump. It’s clear from the white fox’s delighted expression that, far from being intimidated by the red fox’s impressive talents, the white fox finds them positively wonderful and wants to play together. If the red fox grinds down a stairway on its skateboard (wearing a helmet, of course), then the white fox applauds, appearing genuinely pleased—before upping the ante by soaring through the air on a snowboard. Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed a rocket pack on the title page, and indeed, the slightly competitive play of Fox and Fox escalates (literally). Two sparsely illustrated double-page spreads complete the cheery rise and fall of their competition. “Two characters are friends” is a classic of the limited-vocabulary beginning reader for a reason, and the lovely artwork, sketched out in simple lines, does the well-trodden tropes justice. The red fox’s superciliousness and the white fox’s indefatigable happiness come through clearly. Visuals and text featuring repetition and simplicity will charm while building reading skills.
A winning tale of two pals engaged in a safely silly competition. (Early reader. 4-6)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780063277939
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too many bugs, figuratively.
Lucy, “the youngest member of a family of fireflies,” must overcome an irrational, moon-induced anxiety in order to leave her family tree trunk and glow.
The first six pages pull readers into a lush, beautiful world of nighttime: “When the sun has set, silence falls over the Big Forest, and all of the nighttime animals wake up.” Mixed media provide an enchanting forest background, with stylized flora and fauna eventually illuminated by a large, benign moon, because the night “doesn’t like to catch them by surprise.” Turning the page catches readers by surprise, though: the family of fireflies is decidedly comical and silly-looking. Similarly, the text moves from a lulling, magical cadence to a distinct shift in mood as the bugs ready themselves for their foray into the night: “They wave their bottoms in the air, wiggle their feelers, take a deep, deep breath, and sing, ‘Here we go, it’s time to glow!’ ” It’s an acceptable change, but more unevenness follows. Lucy’s excitement about finally joining the other bugs turns to “sobbing” two nights in a row. Instead of directly linking her behavior to understandable reactions of children to newness, the text undermines itself by making Lucy’s parents’ sweet reassurances impotent and using the grandmother’s scientific explanation of moonlight as an unnecessary metaphor. Further detracting from the story, the text becomes ever denser and more complex over the book’s short span.
Too many bugs, figuratively. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-84-16147-00-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cuento de Luz
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
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