Another wonderful animal story from the author of Babe, the Gallant Pig and Harry's Mad. The chickens at Foxearth Farm, profiting from several generations of relative freedom from cages and regimentation, are unusual: quick-witted and independent, they have learned to fly (in contrast to hens' usual "short-range, low-altitude, frantic fluttering"), well out of reach of the ever-hungry foxes. The foxes plan a trap, and succeed in a massacre; but by the time they have devised a second scheme (they learn to climb ladders in order to reach the chickens' high nests), the chickens are ready: three pullets have learned to produce armored eggs that prove a decisive weapon against their enemies. King-Smith could well be compared to E.B. White: with comical precision, he captures the essence of the farmyard in his animal characters' behavior, incorporating such details as names found on farm machinery and chicken-related wordplay in his graceful, economical narrative. Not only is his book an imaginative, exciting story—when the victory of the naturally pacific hens costs the life of a gallant rooster (rather dim compared to his clever wife), as well as a lot of eggs, it downplays heroics and suggests that even a just victory has its price. A swell read-aloud.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1988
ISBN: 014131642X
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1988
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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