Detective Dog Nell is quite a satisfactory sleuth. Surely she has more cases to solve? (Picture book. 3-7)
A talented dog named Nell uses her acute sense of smell to solve mysteries in her neighborhood, including the complete disappearance of a classroom library.
Rollicking, rhyming text describes Nell’s successes at solving little puzzles and finding missing items for her owner, a 6-year-old boy named Peter. Detective Dog Nell accompanies Peter to school each Monday, where she listens to children read stories from their well-stocked library shelves. One Monday, the books are all missing from the shelves, and the students and teacher are despondent. Nell leads the class of children and their teacher, Mr. Jones, on a search to find the books, which have been stolen by a (nonscary) giant named Ted. Then ever resourceful Nell leads the group to the library, where Ted gets his own library card so he can read books as much as he likes. Donaldson’s pitch-perfect text effectively uses humorous twists and rich vocabulary as well as a fine sense of melodramatic pacing. Bold watercolor-and-pencil illustrations give all the characters distinct personalities and plant funny details to spot in the busy double-page spreads. Some of the townspeople have brown skin, as do two students in Peter’s class; the other characters, including Peter, Ted, and Mr. Jones, seem to be white. A male primary school teacher and a female canine title character are welcome representations countering stereotypes, especially dog protagonists who default to male.
Detective Dog Nell is quite a satisfactory sleuth. Surely she has more cases to solve? (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: May 8, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-15676-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Godwin Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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
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