A clever story somewhat brought down by Olive’s mismatched ages between text and illustrations.
A hound dog named George helps the new owners of a farm as they adjust to life in the country.
When Farmer Fritz retires and moves away, his dog is left behind to help the new owners when they arrive from the city. The Gladstone family of four includes the parents and two children, a boy named Owen and his sister, Olive. Owen appears to be about 8 or 9, and Olive looks 3 or 4 She is described in the text as Owen’s “baby sister,” who is just saying her first word, but those indications do not match her age as shown in the illustrations. Farmer Fritz is white; the Gladstones all have dark hair and pale skin. George assists the new owners with tractor maintenance and herding cows, but he becomes a hero when he uses his scent-tracking ability to find the missing Olive, off having a tea party with a chicken. George eventually gets the farm running smoothly and finds his true calling watching over Olive. A clever subplot shows the “wily cows” engaging in various escapades to get out into the cornfields for a feast. Humorous illustrations include lots of funny details and action as well as an appealing personality for lovable George.
A clever story somewhat brought down by Olive’s mismatched ages between text and illustrations. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 20, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5039-4176-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Two Lions
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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