It won’t break the mold of the big-bear-in-the-city trope, but sharp jokes and richness in the details make this book well...
A fed-up bear takes a break from his annual cave-sleeping routine but finds that his companions and slumber aren’t so easily left behind.
Bear’s hibernation time has started, but he can’t sleep. For one thing, he’s surrounded by about 20 critters who pile atop and next to him, whether it’s Beaver or Raccoon or Skunk. “I’ve had enough of being treated like a big furry mattress,” he declares and sets off to find solo accommodations at a posh hotel. It goes about as well as could be expected: he scarfs down every snack in sight, drinks from the toilet, and has trouble getting the room’s temperature right. But just when readers think that he won’t catch a wink because of the “strange, hollow, empty feeling” in his tummy, it turns out it’s not loneliness but hunger that only room service can cure. Gigantic Bear, with his enormous white belly patch and his curiosity about hair dryers and shampoos, is a grumpy delight, but he’s not completely heartless. When his pals show up, they do end up in a hibernation cuddle, though it’s unclear who’s picking up the charges for the whole winter. Stuffed with skewed, goofy, and detailed illustrations that highlight Bear’s presence against his expensive surroundings, the book goes quite a few beats further than simply delivering a moral message about being careful what you wish for. Bear gets to have his friends, his sleep, and a hibernation stay in style.
It won’t break the mold of the big-bear-in-the-city trope, but sharp jokes and richness in the details make this book well worth an extended stay. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68010-073-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
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
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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