Stunning illustrations and authentic words grace this unusually sophisticated picture book.
Following Nighttime Ninja (2012), Young and DaCosta collaborate once again, this time infusing the sense and spirit of Moby-Dick (with a twist) into a picture book.
As the book opens, a crew of whalemen longs to be homeward bound, their combined voices echoing sea chanteys (in fact all the words in the story but one are taken from Melville’s novel). But the chase for Moby Dick is on, extending page after dramatic page…until the plug is pulled—literally—and readers realize that the story is an imaginative child’s bathtub adventure. Each double-page spread (most in a typical horizontal orientation, others an unexpected vertical) brings readers a fresh dose of nuance and meaning created by Young’s expert design and composition. The endpapers, which at first appear to be a random mottled tan and white, on closer inspection reveal possibly a negative image of sailing ships, or is it a whale’s hide seen very close up? This illustrative complexity rewards readers who look deeply, engaging both their perceptions and emotions. Off-kilter lines indicate unease and tension. The red face of the peg-legged captain intent on revenge visually screams his anger. A harpoon’s shocking pink line, at first glance incongruous, has a slant and color that reverberates against the cobalt blue of the water, creating a thrum of action. It all works.
Stunning illustrations and authentic words grace this unusually sophisticated picture book. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-29936-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Dizzyingly silly.
The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
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