Wordplay makes for a tongue-twistingly cute read-aloud about friendship, despite a few flaws in execution.
An otter oughta know that she can’t be friends with an alligator—or can she?
From the riverbank, the otter’s animal friends warn her that a gator is close behind. When she disappears under the surface, they fear the worst. But the otter and the gator quickly re-emerge together as friends. The gator playfully launches the otter into the air, leading all the animals to a friendship-themed surprise party. The illustrations charm with clean lines, saturated colors, and touches of texture. The message is sweet—friends come in all forms—though gaps in the storyline leave it feeling like little more than a vehicle for the wordplay. (Why would the otter and the gator stage an alarming ruse to frighten their friends toward a party? Or was the alligator encounter an oddly convenient coincidence?) As the title suggests, the verse is full of tongue-twisting whimsy. Periodic breaks from the rhyme (“Swim, otter!” “Fly, otter!”) provide a welcome rest when reading out loud. Using repetition that may help hold the attention spans of younger listeners, the book frequently returns to variations on key phrases and patterns, though unpredictable shifts in the structure and occasionally awkward meter detract somewhat from the read-aloud experience.
Wordplay makes for a tongue-twistingly cute read-aloud about friendship, despite a few flaws in execution. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781338863451
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
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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