Sweetly winning as the main character may be, Rand’s story is mildly confusing enough to keep readers from fully enjoying the book. Little Flower is a potbellied pig in the care of Miss Pearl. Little Flower is darling, all grins and feathery bristles as drawn by Paddington’s illustrator, and she is most proud of a trick she has learned: to roll over, poke her trotters at the sky, and play dead. Miss Pearl has Little Flower perform this stunt for her neighbors, who roundly applaud the pig, all except for the Highchews, a stuffy couple from next door who are not amused. When Miss Pearl falls and injures her hip, it is up to Little Flower to get help. But how? Little Flower figures her trick might garner attention, but it is not until she plays dead in the middle of the road that anyone notices. Of course, in the middle of a busy road she could just as well have been standing on her head or dancing the polka as playing dead. Then, seemingly out of the blue, the Highchews agree to care for the pig (the one they didn’t find amusing) until Miss Pearl returns from the hospital. Later, readers learn that they took her in because they considered her a hero. Would they have given her the bum’s rush if she weren’t a hero? Have they turned a new leaf or are they opportunists? Little Flower is a simple pig, and her adventures should be equally so. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8050-6480-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2002
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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