An engaging and original approach to a beloved fairy tale.
A globally inspired, Spanish-flavored retelling of a classic folktale.
In this picture book, Garcia puts his own spin on the familiar tale of three porcine siblings: “Once upon a time, Madre pig and Padre pig had three little pigs of their own,” the book begins. The story unfolds as readers expect, with the three little pigs growing up and going out into the world, building their dwellings of straw, wood, and brick, and facing off against a hungry wolf as he follows them from one house to another, with the pigs triumphant in the end. One or two words on each page are rendered in Spanish, making the book easy to follow for those with no knowledge of the language while offering a linguistic learning opportunity. (A glossary in the book’s back matter offers translations and pronunciation guidance.) What makes the book stand out is its approach to illustration: Each image is created by a different illustrator, with the artists identified by name and nationality on each page. The group of illustrators is broad and varied, with contributors from the Americas, Europe, Oceania, Asia, and Africa. Each applies their own interpretation to the concepts described in the text, while an overall framework of imagery and color brings consistency to the book, resulting in a single coherent story rather than an assembly of unrelated artwork. Visual details, like the pocket square worn by the impatient second pig; the Taj Mahal–like house of bricks that includes a circular driveway, a swimming pool, and topiary-strewn gardens; and the wolf’s patched pants, suspenders, and spiked bracelets bring the story to life. Each artist’s work is distinctive, but readers will have no trouble following the characters from one page to the next. Darya Shch of Spain depicts the tearful pig parents waving as their three children set off into the world, Argentinian Mariano Epelbaum captures the three having a carefree movie night as the wolf attacks the house of bricks, and Mexican Luis San Vicente brings the wolf to his ignominious end.
An engaging and original approach to a beloved fairy tale.Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9781961166066
Page Count: 38
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor
Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.
The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”
A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
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