With remarkably appealing spiders showing energy and emotion on every page, this clever, well-paced story is sure to appeal...
A gigantic spider saves their itsy-bitsy friends in this hilarious twist on an old fingerplay.
Cute, fuzzy, pastel spiders Itsy-Bitsy, Mitsy-Bitsy, Litsy-Plitsy, and Witsy-Ditsy all climb up the waterspout. “I could climb up the waterspout if I wanted to!” insists the Hugely-Wugely Spider, “Which I don’t!” Then they try to squeeze in (no easy task—they are huge, after all) only to rebuffed by the tiny spiders, who put up a sign saying “You must be at least this itsy-bitsy to climb up the waterspout.” But as millions of children and adults know, “down comes the rain,” threatening to “wash the spiders out.” In the spirit of Rudolph and Tacky the Penguin, the Hugely-Wugely Spider plugs up the waterspout with their ample body, enduring the rain and accumulated muck from the gutters, until the sun comes out “and dried up all the rain” (“No! I dried up all the rain! The sun didn’t do anything,” argues the Hugely-Wugely Spider. “It’s true,” agrees the sun). The story concludes with an updated version of the famous song crediting the heroism of the Hugely-Wugely Spider, who is rewarded with “heaps and heaps of adorable leg warmers to keep all of my adorable legs perfectly warm!” Edwards’ scratchy, cartoon illustrations take the premise and ably amp up the humor.
With remarkably appealing spiders showing energy and emotion on every page, this clever, well-paced story is sure to appeal to children with a taste for zany, self-referential humor . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 22, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-374-30616-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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