A hilariously preposterous situation that will delight comics newbies.
Dog and Pony return for a second act; Dog quickly gets in a pickle.
Pony wraps a scarf around Dog and grabs an umbrella, and the two of them set out for a walk as snow begins to fall. Then Dog sees a tree and, with some help from Pony, climbs to the lowest limb. Dog’s pride (“Look at me! I did it!”) is deflated by the difficulty of descending. The scarf becomes a rescue rope, but Dog is inadvertently boomeranged up to an even higher branch. Pony suggests using the umbrella to float back down, but the wind catches it and lifts Dog to the treetop. Pony climbs up after Dog but slips; Dog pulls Pony to safety. Now they’re both stuck in the tree! Dog’s solution? They should live here. Pony objects reasonably. While Pony frets, Dog notices that the snowpack has reached the tree’s level. They slide away happily, but has Dog learned a lesson? Of course not! The animals are anthropomorphized in terms of behavior but not in shape; the simple forms (tree, umbrella) stand out against a flat background, and the typeface is large. The text is simple enough for newcomers to graphic fiction, but the interplay between impulsive Dog and cautious Pony will have them chuckling. The book begins with a helpful guide to reading a graphic work that explains speech and thought bubbles, panels, and the order in which to follow them.
A hilariously preposterous situation that will delight comics newbies. (Graphic early reader. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9781665939157
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Simon Spotlight
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
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
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
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