A pox on the haters! Secure the mainsail and set a course for a howling good adventure.
A literary cur teaches her fellow buccaneers that there be treasure in them thar books!
Book-smart pup Nell joins an all-dog pirate crew with big dreams. “For great adventures filled her head / from every tale she’d ever read.” She even has her trusty Pirate’s Almanac to help this young dog learn some new tricks. But Capt. Gnash, an amputee bulldog with a bone for a prosthesis instead of a peg leg, has no respect for bookishness and belittles the peppy pup. Undeterred, Nell finds a treasure map only to have it snatched by Gnash. Ignoring Nell’s good advice, he soon finds himself in need of her rescue, and when the treasure is at last discovered, is it any wonder that it’s 20 treasure chests full of books? Gnash sees the error of his ways, and Nell not only teaches the crew to read, but converts the boat into a floating library. The upbeat rhyming text keeps the plot moving at a fair clip and sails past the occasional awkward turn of phrase (is it possible to “snap…with a sneer”?). Cheery art has a friendly, cartoony look, and its buoyant tenor will make even the scurviest wag yearn for a tropical isle of their own. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-22.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 27.7% of actual size.)
A pox on the haters! Secure the mainsail and set a course for a howling good adventure. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4926-9867-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
© 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.
