While there is a nugget of appeal in the illustrations of the endearing puppy, this effort falls short in its intended...
In this Swiss import, a young dachshund puppy named Nugget explores the world outside his home, comparing his own small stature with larger animals and structures.
Nugget is only 10 months old, and he feels small and rather powerless, his view of the world limited to gazing up at large tables, towering trees, and sky-high buildings. As he ventures out on his own into the city, Nugget longs to see a great vista from a high perspective. With the help of his friends, the puppy finds his way to an enormous bridge where he looks down on the river and tall buildings and discovers “what it’s like to be big.” In the tradition of the traveler who gratefully returns home with an enlightened consciousness, Nugget finds his way back to his own cozy house and decides being a small and pampered pet is not so bad after all. While his quest to expand his worldview from a higher perspective has some philosophical validity, the illustrations do not show Nugget’s expansive view, and the story doesn’t convey his transformative experience. The text is a classic example of the need to show rather than tell, as the dog’s experiences and feelings are described in rather dry prose that fails to make Nugget a compelling character. The subject of relative perspective is explored with much greater success in You Are (Not) Small by Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant (2014).
While there is a nugget of appeal in the illustrations of the endearing puppy, this effort falls short in its intended thematic journey. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4242-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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