Readers are sure to want a night hike of their own…perhaps with a beloved sibling.
A nocturnal adventure opens a child’s eyes to wonders in the dark.
An excited child awakens a younger brother for a walk under the full moon. The young narrator points out the night sky and various phenomena and encourages the little one to listen for night creatures: wolves, loons, a barred owl, crickets, frogs. The duo spy many animals, from skunks and bats to fireflies and a luna moth. The protagonist’s care for the young boy is both evident and sweet; the narrator ensures he’s dressed properly, holds his hand, eases any fears he might have about the dark woods, offers warnings about rocks and roots, and carries him when he gets tired. The rhyming verses are hit or miss in terms of rhythm (“We’ll explore in the dark. / No flashlights tonight. / Our night-vision hike / needs only moonlight”), and several poetic lines glaringly drop the young protagonist’s voice. Murray captures the night well with subdued but glowing colors. Hashed lines in the illustrations add marvelous texture. The older sibling has light skin, freckles, and reddish hair; little brother has light brown skin and black hair in tight curls. Backmatter provides further info about light pollution and the creatures and night-sky sights from the text.
Readers are sure to want a night hike of their own…perhaps with a beloved sibling. (Picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781534113367
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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