Nature appreciation for the youngest set.
Kids encounter magical surprises on a nature walk.
Dressed in bright rain gear, three racially diverse friends search for fairies. Are those sweet-smelling honey snowdrops fairies? One child is convinced that fairies lurk under a heavy rock, so the pals turn it over. No fairy. Instead…“A dragon!” (Actually a lizard.) Not to be deterred, another youngster points to a spot: “A cozy, snug table? For a fairy feast!” (It turns out to be “puff belly mushrooms.”) Though the kids have discovered numerous marvels, they persist with their hunt. Soon, they encounter burrowing bugs! Their disappointment’s keen: “No fairies at all!…No imps. No sprites. Not even an enchanted woodland spirit.” Are they shy? The children hear whispers with a passing breeze. “Feel the ground! It hums. It thrums!” They gasp, touching the earth; below, readers catch a glimpse of burrowing animals slumbering (among them, unbeknownst to the children, fairies snuggle). The friends, now wearing leafy garlands, happily deem the passing butterflies “fairy wings” and acknowledge the gifts left by the fairies: flowers, leaves, and stones. They leave behind a treasure of their own—items collected on their walk—then return home, bidding the fairies farewell. This magical story employs lovely language. Like music to the ear, the text dances, fairylike, off the tongue, demanding to be read aloud. Delicate, lush illustrations emphasize nature’s beauty. Different typefaces are incorporated, often set against soft-blue backgrounds.
Nature appreciation for the youngest set. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781536230710
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
Powered by whimsy and nostalgia, a doggone adorable tale of superheroes transforming the world for the better.
Can flying puppies, fueled by people’s hugs, save the world from gloom?
Light-skinned Snarly McBummerpants is busy sending out Mopey Smokes (evil-looking dark brown clouds) from his volcano on the Island of Woe to create a sad state of affairs. But the caped puppies, each equipped with a rocket and hailing from “the outer reaches of NOT-FROM-HERE,” use their abilities to conquer the morose McBummerpants and bring happiness back to everyone’s lives. The meticulously detailed illustrations carry the story, dark colors turning to rainbow hues and frowns turning to smiles. From Big Brad to Tiny Brad, the smallest, most powerful puppy, who “[licks] a kiss right on the tip of Snarly McBummerpants’s nose,” these absolutely endearing pooches elicit a universal “AWWWWWWWWWW!” from all who encounter them. Joyce’s witty illustrations depict diverse children and adults who appear to hail from different decades. Two teenagers wear the bobby socks and saddle shoes of the 1940s and ’50s and sit atop a retro soda cooler. Other kids ride the skateboards of a later era. Laurel and Hardy, classic movie performers who may need introduction, are amusingly pictured as bullies turned florists (a little odd, since only Hardy bullied Laurel). Even McBummerpants seems reminiscent of an old-time movie villain. The text is less inventive than the pictures, but the message of good over evil is always timely.
Powered by whimsy and nostalgia, a doggone adorable tale of superheroes transforming the world for the better. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781665961332
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
Like the last sip of a chocolate milkshake, it’s very satisfying.
A story-reading dragon—what’s not to like?
Duncan the Dragon loves to read. But the stories so excite him, his imagination catches fire—and so do his books, leaving him wondering about the endings. Does the captain save the ship? Do aliens conquer the Earth? Desperate to reach the all-important words “The End” (“like the last sip of a chocolate milk shake”), he tries reading in the refrigerator, in front of a bank of electric fans, and even in a bathtub filled with ice. Nothing works. He decides to ask a friend to read to him, but the raccoon, possum, and bull all refuse. Weeping, Duncan is ready to give up, but one of his draconic tears runs “split-splat into a mouse,” a book-loving mouse! Together they battle sea monsters, dodge icebergs, and discover new lands, giving rise to a fast friendship. Driscoll’s friendly illustrations are pencil sketches painted in Adobe Photoshop; she varies full-bleed paintings with vignettes surrounded by white space, imaginary scenes rendered in monochrome to set them apart. Duncan himself is green, winged, and scaly, but his snout is unthreateningly bovine, and he wears red sneakers with his shoelaces untied—a nicely vulnerable touch. Though there are lots of unusual friendship stories in picture books, the vivid colors, expressive faces, and comic details make this one likely to be a storytime hit.
Like the last sip of a chocolate milkshake, it’s very satisfying. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-75507-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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