Bouncer’s story is busy and slightly confusing, but it’s pleasant enough.
Bouncer the bunny is a picky eater who knows what she likes in the latest entry in the Pick Me Up! series.
Five somewhat confused-looking bunnies star in a light entertainment for toddlers that might have been subtitled, “Quest for Carrots.” Like the other Pick Me Up! books, this volume’s pages are die cut to resemble a pet carrier, with a handle at the top and the hungry protagonist peering through a window. If the handle promotes extra handling and reading by kids, that is all to the good. The plot is simple: Bouncer is hungry, but, when offered hay, sprouts, and spinach by her rabbit friends, she turns up her nose, holding out for carrots. Fortunately for Bouncer, the whole affair ends in a picnic lunch complete with an enormous, crunchy carrot. Artist Hare (yes, Hare) creates collages combining stock photos, swatches of color, and simple graphics. The rabbits’ expressions don’t vary much, although one startling close-up of Bouncer bears a passing resemblance to internet sensation Grumpy Cat. The primary text is rhymed across two-page spreads, with awkward meter and inconsistent syllable counts from line to line and couplet to couplet. Bunny dialogue appears in word balloons; there are chewing sound effects as well. Therefore, the first reading feels a bit clumsy; caregivers may find that reading narrative, then dialogue, then sound effects works best.
Bouncer’s story is busy and slightly confusing, but it’s pleasant enough. (Board book. 18 mos.-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4654-6332-6
Page Count: 12
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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