Drag queens may throw some shade at Ogilvy’s wardrobe, but that’s this book’s only flaw.
Clothes do not make the bunny.
When Ogilvy, a bunny of unknown gender, moves to a new town, they are initially excited to play with other bunnies in their neighborhood. But Ogilvy finds themselves the center of unwanted attention because of their attire: a long, knit turtleneck. The local rules are soon broken down: Bunnies in dresses can knit and play baseball, and bunnies in sweaters can create art and go rock climbing. No crossovers allowed. But what is Ogilvy wearing? Is it a dress or a sweater? Ogilvy decides daily it’s one or the other depending on their mood, until run-ins with the unofficial fashion police finally come to a head. In that moment, Ogilvy finds their voice and convinces the town that it’s OK to break the mold and try new things. It’s a strong message told subtly. The book is multifaceted, making it relevant to everyone, but it will particularly resonate with gender-nonconforming kids, transgender kids, nonbinary kids, and kids who are exploring gender fluidity. It does a lot of heavy lifting. Underwood’s rhyming text flows smoothly and adeptly functions without third-person pronouns, making Ogilvy’s particular gender identity a non-issue. McBeth’s illustrations digitally collage knitwear onto cartoon bunnies and match the mood nicely, but it is odd that Ogilvy’s clothes are a duller palette than the other bunnies’.
Drag queens may throw some shade at Ogilvy’s wardrobe, but that’s this book’s only flaw. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: May 21, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-15176-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Godwin Books
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
A kind child in a book for middle-grade readers? There’s no downside to that.
Beatrice Zinker is a kinder, gentler Judy Moody.
Beatrice doesn’t want to be fit in a box. Her first word was “WOW,” not “Mom.” She does her best thinking upside down and prefers to dress like a ninja. Like Judy Moody, she has patient parents and a somewhat annoying younger brother. (She also has a perfectly ordinary older sister.) Beatrice spends all summer planning a top-secret spy operation complete with secret codes and a secret language (pig Latin). But on the first day of third grade, her best friend, Lenny (short for Eleanor), shows up in a dress, with a new friend who wants to play veterinarian at recess. Beatrice, essentially a kind if somewhat quirky kid, struggles to see the upside of the situation and ends up with two friends instead of one. Line drawings on almost every spread add to the humor and make the book accessible to readers who might otherwise balk at its 160 pages. Thankfully, the rhymes in the text do not continue past the first chapter. Children will enjoy the frequent puns and Beatrice’s preference for climbing trees and hanging upside down. The story drifts dangerously close to pedantry when Beatrice asks for advice from a grandmotherly neighbor but is saved by likable characters and upside-down cake. Beatrice seems to be white; Lenny’s surname, Santos, suggests that she may be Latina; their school is a diverse one.
A kind child in a book for middle-grade readers? There’s no downside to that. (Fiction. 6-10)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4847-6738-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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