A manure manifesto for poo-ficionados.
Two little white mice can’t stop wondering what other animals’ (including humans’) fecal matter looks like.
A father mouse is taking his two little mice to the zoo, but only if they promise not to talk about poo. They’re barely out the door (which fronts on a child’s bedroom) when they notice a poster of an astronaut on the wall and, in whispers, wonder what astronaut waste looks like. “Shiny, silver, space-age poo! / Rocket-powered weightless poo, / and it spins round and round / like a planet does too!” Their guess at a pink poodle’s poo? “Tiny, pink, pom-pom poo!” (the same as the lady in the pink, frilly dress walking the poodle). They imagine a gourmet chef would poo on a china plate, and the balloon sculptor’s would be “squeaky, bendy, blow-up poo.” In the same vein, at the zoo, all their scatological supposition is that each animal’s poo is somehow similar to the animal itself (penguin poo is snowman-shaped). Finally, Daddy overhears and shows them what the zoo does with all the poo (fertilize the plants)…so all these supposed differences don’t matter. Bird’s rhyming text is conveyed entirely in dialogue, and the only real surprise is that it takes Daddy so long to overhear his children. Coppo’s paintings have a pleasing matte quality to them, and they rise to the text’s challenge in their various renderings of turds, most of which look like brown soft serve ice cream. (The poo in an actual ice cream cone may be too much for weaker constitutions.) Humans depicted are diverse.
A manure manifesto for poo-ficionados. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6799-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
An accessible entrance into the world of social-emotional skills.
What do you do when the world turns upside down?
Freckled redhead Tilda is a happy only child with a rollicking personality. With lots of books and toys and a multiracial group of friends, life is perfect as far as she’s concerned…until her world undergoes a troubling change (a subtle hint in the illustrations suggests that Tilda’s parents have divorced). Suddenly, nothing feels right, everything seems hard, and she doesn’t want to play with her friends. To reflect this emotional disorientation, the artwork shows Tilda in spatially distorted settings, complete with upside-down objects. It’s not until she sees an upturned ladybug struggle persistently before getting back on its feet (despite Tilda’s desire to help, the ladybug needs to help itself) that Tilda gains the courage to start taking baby steps in order to cope with her new reality. There are still challenges, and she needs to persevere, but eventually, she regains her zest for life and reconnects with her friends. Despite this, the ending avoids an easy happily-ever-after, which feels just right for the subject matter. Though a trifle didactic, the story sends an important message about the roles of self-efficacy and persistence when it comes to overcoming challenges and building resilience. Percival’s digital illustrations use transitions from grayscale to color to create symbolic meaning and have psychological depth, deftly capturing a child’s experience of trauma.
An accessible entrance into the world of social-emotional skills. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0822-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2022
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