Punny but incoherent.
Animal musicians learn to play together.
Farmer Joni loves to sit on the porch of her farmhouse, listening to the cows make music in the barn. Celery’s voice is “round and mellow like an old apple barrel.” Nutmeg provides accompaniment on the mandolin. Most of the other animals enjoy it, but donkey Billy and sheep Esme grouse a bit about being excluded from the music-making. When a storm destroys the roof of the barn, the animals decide to help fund the repairs. Nutmeg and Celery busk and busk, with Esme and Billy assisting with collection. Who should arrive but slick promoter George Smarm, in a striped purple suit? He promises fame and fortune if they just change from “MOO-grass” to “DisCOW” music. The DisCOW duo is a big hit, arriving by “liMOOsine” to play “megadromes.” But they never see a paycheck and, feeling homesick, hitchhike back to the farm. Joni still lacks the money to fix the roof, so Nutmeg and Celery propose a fundraiser, which Billy insists on turning into a “MOO-BAA-HEHAW-sic Festival!” Pindar’s lesson of inclusion is well taken, and her puns should tickle readers. The diversion into Celery and Nutmeg’s exploitation at the hands of the greedy promoter, however, seems to serve mostly to pad pages and add more opportunities for puns. It has no bearing on the story’s overall theme, which is rushed in its conclusion. Joni and Smarm are both White.
Punny but incoherent. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-84886-649-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Maverick Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
