This soothing bedtime book cuddles up to its forebears.
Hush. It’s bedtime on the farm.
Farm animals large and small prepare for sleep in their own particular styles and cozy places—and, according to this book, also with lullabies that sweetly incorporate their own unique voices. For example, a horse snuggles up to its foal with a “neigh-a-bye,” a cow settles down with a “moo-a-bye,” lambs tuck in to the tune of a “baa-a-bye,” and so on. And when all the animals have bedded down, and “field and barn melt into sky,” the farm also gives itself up to a good night’s rest. This is a sweet, if somewhat treacly, bedtime story, expressed in gentle rhyming couplets that generally read and scan well, intended to lull the littlest human lambs and chicks into peaceful slumber. Young dreamers will appreciate the very colorful illustrations, evocative of mid-20th-century picture books, which present a good selection of familiar barnyard creatures depicted in bright, vivid, sometimes unrealistic colors. These cuddly, endearing farm residents resemble winsome, beloved stuffed toys that small children might themselves snuggle under the covers with. The farm’s environs—fields and barn—are equally awash in bold colors. Front and rear endpapers feature adorable ducklings.
This soothing bedtime book cuddles up to its forebears. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4521-8103-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 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
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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