Original, superinteresting, expertly presented.
A young child finds the perfect pet for a downsized lifestyle in this picture book.
What’s a kid got to do to get a pet when the parents subscribe to the tiny house philosophy? The young narrator used to live “in a ginormous house…with six poodles, ten cats, a tarantula…”—and the pet list goes on in a delightfully rippling fashion. But when the child’s parents decide to “downsize!” and “simplify!” the pets are given away and the family moves to a tiny house in the woods. “All is good,” the narrator says in the casual, friendly tone that distinguishes the narrative, “except I really want a pet.” The parents are adamant: no pets. In science class, however, the child learns about the microscopic tardigrade—the “water bear”—and is convinced it would make the perfect tiny pet. Author/illustrator Hartland’s ingenuous gouache illustrations are chock-full of playful, humorous details (such as specialized pet products that include mouse Halloween costumes and toothpaste for elephants), and the book’s fresh storyline exposing the tiny world of tardigrades will have an undeniable appeal to young readers (and may inspire adoptions of microscopic pets). Visually, crisp dialogue bubbles mix with text and full-bleed illustrations to create a lively, engaging presentation (including an author’s note with tardigrade fun facts). The narrator and parents are shown as white with other characters illustrated in various skin tones.
Original, superinteresting, expertly presented. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-3753-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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