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LOGAN'S GREENHOUSE

Young green thumbs will enjoy this engaging intro to winter fruits and vegetables.

Accompanied by his pet chameleon, a boy searches for a carrot in preparation for a pet play date.

Logan, a pale-skinned, red-haired boy who uses a manual wheelchair, surveys fruits and veggies in his greenhouse with the aid of a reacher. Which one is the carrot? In straightforward text, Brown-Wood provides descriptive clues and invites readers to compare and contrast possibilities to find the answer. For instance, a carrot has a few light and dark rings inside it; that purple root has rings, too. Is it a carrot? No, the author explains, that’s a beet; beets have many more rings than carrots do. Carrots are bright orange with ribbed skin—what about that bright-orange, textured plant? But no—that’s an orange, which has dimpled skin. Where could the carrot be? Fortunately, Logan’s chameleon has a keen eye. The elusive carrot finally spotted, Logan and his reptilian pal join “some hungry pets and some hungry friends” for a delicious meal. In addition to learning about leeks, Brussels sprouts, and more, readers will develop their reasoning skills as they apply the author’s clues. With bright hues, clear shapes, and friendly faces, Hardy’s cozy cartoon illustrations add warmth to the snow-dusted setting, and a recipe for winter carrot soup will entice kids to eat their veggies. Background characters are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Young green thumbs will enjoy this engaging intro to winter fruits and vegetables. (Informational picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-68263-167-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Peachtree

Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022

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SKY COLOR

Share this feel-good title with those who love art and those who can appreciate the confidence-building triumph of solving a...

Reynolds returns to a favorite topic—creative self-expression—with characteristic skill in a companion title to The Dot (2003) and Ish (2004).

Marisol is “an artist through and through. So when her teacher told her class they were going to paint a mural…, Marisol couldn’t wait to begin.” As each classmate claims a part of the picture to paint, Marisol declares she will “paint the sky.” But she soon discovers there is no blue paint and wonders what she will do without the vital color. Up to this point, the author uses color sparingly—to accent a poster or painting of Marisol’s or to highlight the paint jars on a desk. During her bus ride home, Marisol wonders what to do and stares out the window. The next spread reveals a vibrant departure from the gray tones of the previous pages. Reds, oranges, lemon yellows and golds streak across the sunset sky. Marisol notices the sky continuing to change in a rainbow of colors…except blue. After awakening from a colorful dream to a gray rainy day, Marisol smiles. With a fervent mixing of paints, she creates a beautiful swirling sky that she describes as “sky color.” Fans of Reynolds will enjoy the succinct language enhanced by illustrations in pen, ink, watercolor, gouache and tea.

Share this feel-good title with those who love art and those who can appreciate the confidence-building triumph of solving a problem on one’s own—creatively. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-7636-2345-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012

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WOODLAND DREAMS

Sweet fare for bed- or naptimes, with a light frosting of natural history.

A sonorous, soporific invitation to join woodland creatures in bedding down for the night.

As in her Moon Babies, illustrated by Amy Hevron (2019), Jameson displays a rare gift for harmonious language and rhyme. She leads off with a bear: “Come home, Big Paws. / Berry picker / Honey trickster / Shadows deepen in the glen. / Lumber back inside your den.” Continuing in the same pattern, she urges a moose (“Velvet Nose”), a deer (“Tiny Hooves”), and a succession of ever smaller creatures to find their nooks and nests as twilight deepens in Boutavant’s woodsy, autumnal scenes and snow begins to drift down. Through each of those scenes quietly walks an alert White child (accompanied by an unusually self-controlled pooch), peering through branches or over rocks at the animals in the foregrounds and sketching them in a notebook. The observer’s turn comes round at last, as a bearded parent beckons: “This way, Small Boots. / Brave trailblazer / Bright stargazer / Cabin’s toasty. Blanket’s soft. / Snuggle deep in sleeping loft.” The animals go unnamed, leaving it to younger listeners to identify each one from the pictures…if they can do so before the verses’ murmurous tempo closes their eyes.

Sweet fare for bed- or naptimes, with a light frosting of natural history. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-4521-7063-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020

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