Behind closed barn doors, boisterous farm animals perform at an open-mike poetry slam. While the mouse serves as the lookout for the farm family, the creative cast fights for the spotlight. Hosted by bossy Yo Mama Goose, each character presents an original poem, often drawing on classic and contemporary literature for inspiration. The cow disputes bovine myths promulgated by familiar nursery rhymes, and the lamb channels Dr. Seuss. The haughty host repeatedly interjects her flowery poem until the performance is disrupted. Witty wordplay and abundant puns pepper the animals’ speech. The annoyed turkey protests, “I did not think your sign, / Be There or Be-Headed, is funny. / It stopped me cold turkey.” Quickly shifting the focus to each performer, the story depends more on zinging punchlines than descriptive narrative; action rapidly builds through targeted one-liners. Meisel’s pencil-and-watercolor double-page spreads feature soft colors and thin lines, emphasizing the dialogue’s comedic elements. Anthropomorphized cartoon characters wear bandanas and sit cross-legged on hay; their wide-eyed expressions enhance the humorous tension. The successful result is high-spirited, lighthearted barnyard banter. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8234-1907-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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