Explores belonging and identity with humor.
A lonely skunk longs for a family.
Skunk looks wistfully at the pooches in the dog park. They all have families who love them, and he wishes he had that kind of love. Head hanging, he bumps into a pole and suddenly sees a flyer for a missing dog. This is his chance! He can become that dog! The family will never suspect a thing. (Astute readers may already guess where this is heading.) Raccoon, Squirrel, and Cat decide to help Skunk with his transformation. A well-placed sock and glove become floppy ears, and Skunk’s white stripe is painted black. Now Skunk just needs to learn about burying bones, rolling over on command, and begging for belly rubs. The sly plot unfolds in a series of speech bubbles above the foursome’s heads. Alas, there’s one special (stinky) skunk attribute that just might spoil this whole plan. Skunk’s eyes grow wide, and his bottom starts to wiggle. The anticipation grows over a few pages—sure to elicit giggles—until Skunk’s cover is blown. The four pals then set out to search for the real lost dog, creating a joyful reunion and cementing their friendship. Collier’s artwork blends cartoonish humor with moments of tenderness; this is a funny but sweetly told tale of found family.
Explores belonging and identity with humor. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2023
ISBN: 9780358697060
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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BOOK REVIEW
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