Delightful rhyming combined with clever illustrations elevate a simple search for love.
To woo a mate, a male bowerbird gathers enticing objects to decorate his home.
Scruffy, bighearted Bert places a purple flower outside his new bower and awaits his bride. “Haughty” Nanette arrives, sniffs, and makes clear that a simple flower won’t be enough. Hurt, Bert flies off to gather more objects to improve his chances at love. A cumulative rhyme structure anchors his multiple attempts to please Nanette: “The snail shell, the silver bell, / The wrapper from the caramel, / Plus the pretty purple flower. / ‘Now will you come inside my bower?’” Fickle Nanette continues to reject Bert. Alas, a second male bird, Claude, arrives and tricks Bert, sending him on a doomed expedition to find a gold ring for Nanette. While Bert flies off, Claude steals his treasures and, ultimately, Nanette. Donaldson’s intricate rhymes, together with Rayner’s illustration of a dejected, slumping Bert, convey his heartbreak: “Where were the comb, the gnome, the foam, / The green pea, the strawberry.” Rayner’s mixed-media illustrations capture the eager-to-please Bert’s open nature, using an earthy palette that pops whenever the purple flower appears. Bert considers giving up on love, but the purple flower’s bold color still has some magic to work. He hears another bird approach: “She look[s] Bert over once or twice / And add[s], “You look very nice, / And what a pretty purple flower!” Could he, at long last, have found his mate?
Delightful rhyming combined with clever illustrations elevate a simple search for love. (brief information on bowerbird behavior) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781915801845
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boxer Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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