Diverting
Beyond just breaking the fourth wall, this clever account of a lobster at a dinner party directly involves readers in the choice of outcome.
Well-mannered lobster Lenny is “delighted” to receive an invitation to a fancy dinner party, and he does every proper thing: dons his hat, grooms his claws and mustache, and arrives with gifts and flowers. The other guests are just as happy to see him, but alert readers will understand what is meant by “In fact, they seemed a little too excited….” The truth is revealed via several visual clues, including one party guest actually drooling and a chef with a tray full of claw crackers; one young girl sits with her back to the door, arms folded, and a grumpy look on her face. Lenny appears clueless that people would be so rude as to eat him. Then, it’s time for readers to choose: Should Lenny stay? Madcap adventures ensue no matter the choice, and the potentially unhappy conclusion—with Lenny on a plate—is lightened, as readers are directed to go back to the beginning and start again. In both scenarios, “little Imogen,” the grumpy girl from the beginning, comes to the rescue. The limited palette of lobster reds and ocean blues outlined in scratchy black suits the wry, understated tone, though child readers familiar with the crustacean will note that bright-red Lenny has been cooked from the very beginning.
Diverting . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7148-7864-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Phaidon
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
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
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts.
Can knightly deeds bring together a feathered odd couple who are on opposite daily schedules?
Having won over a dragon (and millions of fans) in the Caldecott Honor–winning Knight Owl (2022), the fierce yet impossibly cute nocturnal, armor-clad owlet faces a new challenge—sleep deprivation—in the wake of taking on Early Bird, a trainee who rises with the sun and chatters interminably: “I made pancakes! Do you like pancakes? I love pancakes! Where’s the syrup?” It’s enough to test the patience of even the knightliest of owls, and eventually Knight Owl explodes in anger. But although Early Bird is even smaller than her mentor, she turns out to be just as determined to achieve knighthood. After he tells her to leave, she acquits herself so nobly in a climactic encounter with a pack of wolves that she earns a place at the castle. Denise proves a dab hand at depicting genuinely slinky, scary wolves as well as slipping cheerfully anachronistic newspapers and other sight gags into his realistically wrought medieval settings to underscore the tale’s tongue-in-cheek tone. Better yet, a final view of the doughty duo sitting down together to a lavish pancake breakfast/dinner at dusk ends the episode in a sweet rush of syrup and bonhomie.
An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9780316564526
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
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