A gentle reminder that love is a song that must be sung and shared always—and never goes out of tune.
Music is sweetest when filled with love.
Maurice, “once a famous musician,” is an anthropomorphic floppy-eared brown dog who regales crowds all over Paris with beautiful accordion songs. His listeners—pooches of various breeds charmingly dressed in human garb—are delighted with tunes that fill quiet times and shut out the noisy city’s clamor. They reward him with coins, and Maurice repays them by sharing his heart. He’s kind and generous in other ways, too. He’s happiest among his numerous beloved pet birds, whose merry songs and chatter inspire him, for “a song, like love, is always better when it’s shared.” Sadly, Maurice’s audiences eventually disappear. Without money to feed his birds, he makes the heart-rending decision to free them. With them goes his music. With spring’s arrival, Maurice’s heart recalls the old songs. As his music returns, so do his birds, joined by new ones. The combined sounds bring an enchanted new crowd to listen to the melodies, filled again with love—as is Maurice’s apartment, shared with cherished birds once more. This is a sweet, quiet, contemplative story about the joys of sharing love, though perhaps one that may resonate more with adults, as will the delicately lovely Parisian scenes, brimming with Gallic character and iconic, beloved landmarks. Adults who’ve been there will swoon with longing to return. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gentle reminder that love is a song that must be sung and shared always—and never goes out of tune. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 9, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-79721-173-2
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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