McPhail’s latest follows a year in the life of Waddles, a rotund raccoon, and his best friend, Emily, a duck who lives in the pond near Waddles’ tree home. They share companionship, swimming forays and, sometimes, dining adventures. When Emily lays her eggs in the spring, Waddles brings her food every day, then offers to sit on the nest in her place to give her swim breaks. Hortonlike, Waddles determinedly guards his charges, even against a hungry fox. When the ducklings hatch beneath his soft, warm fur, Waddles brings the new babies down to the pond to meet their mother, ushering in a fun-filled summer. Sadness is on the horizon with winter, though, as Emily tells Waddles that she and the ducklings must fly south, and he is left bereft in the cold, not even able to muster his usual voracious appetite. Then spring and Emily and the now not-so-tiny ducklings return. Food tastes good to Waddles again, though he realizes fullness really comes from the heart, not the tummy. Purportedly a story about how much Waddles loves to eat and perhaps even meant to be a cautionary tale about overeating, this aspect of the story quickly gets lost. The charming, expressive paintings that capture the friends’ cozy relationship are the real draw in this friendship story. (Picture book. 3- 6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8109-8415-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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