Another resounding success for this series.
A new dino-centered collaboration from Yolen and Teague is definitely a sweet treat.
In rhyming text, Yolen amuses by wondering how these trick-or-treating reptiles would carry their candy and speculating on some unwelcome behaviors (“Does he stomp on the pumpkins and throw around bits?” “Does she grab for more treats and then make a big mess?”) before asserting that dinosaurs would never! Encountering the dinos on a suburban street, diverse costumed kids initially look startled, then pleased when the creatures show they know the ropes. Cadence and clear language carry readers smoothly along to a message of loving reassurance. Teague depicts lesser-known genera, including Massospondylus, Jainosaurus, and Labocania. As in the other titles in this extensive and popular series, he combines accuracy with rampant imagination and artistic flair; the dinosaurs have authentic body shapes, but since we know little about what their skin or feathers looked like, he freely plays with pattern and color. Teague’s precise, hyperrealistic reptiles walk—or strut—upright. They sport swaths of lime green or electric blue and purple, their scales embellished with flamelike streaks, bands, stripes, dots, and studs. The gentle words, absurd humor, and elegant artwork remind readers about social norms. Children can see themselves in these books and will enjoy the unthreatening proximity to some scaly but fascinating prehistoric predators.
Another resounding success for this series. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 2, 2024
ISBN: 978-1338891980
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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