The Pinkwaters bring back Larry the polar bear, veteran of much foolishness and fan of blueberry muffins and cod pizza. He lives in a hotel bearing his name, run by his human friends the Frobishers, where he serves as the lifeguard and general mischief-maker. In this latest installment, Larry and a number of chums from the zoo manage to have a high old time at their inaugural sleepover, without getting arrested or detonating their usual dose of mayhem. Instead, they act like a bunch of kids; that, of course, is the charm. They order a pizza, watch a scary movie (a documentary starring their Uncle Dave: “Look what Uncle Dave is doing! Look, he’s after the walrus! Run away, walrus! Run away! Oh no!”), fool around outside with flashlights and chatter long into the night. Daniel Pinkwater’s text is perfectly deadpan and Jill Pinkwater’s deeply saturated colors set off perfectly the great white splash of Larry and company. What ought to move readers most—get them up and fancy dancing—is the crazy song that occupies a good slice of the book and to which all engage in a cool jive. Polar bears, you know, love to dance: “Floy doy, floy doy, floy doy.” (Picture book. 3-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5314-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2007
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Turkey’s in the “kind of trouble where it’s almost Thanksgiving...and you’re the main course.” Accordingly, Turkey tries on disguise after disguise, from horse to cow to pig to sheep, at each iteration being told that he looks nothing like the animal he’s trying to mimic (which is quite true, as Harper’s quirky watercolors make crystal clear). He desperately squeezes a red rubber glove onto his head to pass as a rooster, only to overhear the farmer suggest a poultry plan B when he’s unable to turn up the turkey. Turkey’s horrified expression as he stands among the peppers and tomatoes—in November? Chalk it up to artistic license—is priceless, but his surroundings give him an idea. Good fun, but it may lead to a vegetarian table or two. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5529-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2009
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