A clever, nest-building saga that reminds us how interconnected we are.
In this “The House That Jack Built”–style tale, wayward wisps of hair trigger a chain reaction resulting in an unlikely union of bears and birds.
“This is the lair the bears shared.” Three bear cubs and a mother bear peek out of their den. The following page shows the mother slumbering. Brown fur, propelled by the sleeping mother bear’s breath, wafts outside and across the double-page spread to a perky red bird as the text explains, “This is the hair that came / from the lair / the bears shared.” With each page turn, another element is added to the rhyme as momentum and drama build. The bird borrows the bear’s hair to build a nest for three baby birds in a tall tree that the wind shakes and a rain cloud soaks until the branch holding the nest cracks, tossing the nest and baby birds into a bush and eventually onto slippery ground, where they slide into the bear lair. In a full-circle finale, mama bear and cubs confront mama bird and the baby birds. As the catchy cadenced text expands, its repetition and rich alliterative language (“water whirled on wind,” “the bush with bouncy boughs”) are ideal for reading aloud. Illustrations effectively use close-ups and unusual perspectives to heighten excitement, while pastel hues and soft shapes create a gentle, reassuring aura for the unusual bear-bird encounter. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A clever, nest-building saga that reminds us how interconnected we are. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-374-38904-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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
Let these crayons go back into their box.
The Crayons return to celebrate Easter.
Six crayons (Red, Orange, Yellow, Esteban, who is green and wears a yellow cape, White, and Blue) each take a shape and scribble designs on it. Purple, perplexed and almost angry, keeps asking why no one is creating an egg, but the six friends have a great idea. They take the circle decorated with red shapes, the square adorned with orange squiggles “the color of the sun,” the triangle with yellow designs, also “the color of the sun” (a bit repetitious), a rectangle with green wavy lines, a white star, about which Purple remarks: “DID you even color it?” and a rhombus covered with blue markings and slap the shapes onto a big, light-brown egg. Then the conversation turns to hiding the large object in plain sight. The joke doesn’t really work, the shapes are not clear enough for a concept book, and though colors are delineated, it’s not a very original color book. There’s a bit of clever repartee. When Purple observe that Esteban’s green rectangle isn’t an egg, Esteban responds, “No, but MY GOSH LOOK how magnificent it is!” Still, that won’t save this lackluster book, which barely scratches the surface of Easter, whether secular or religious. The multimedia illustrations, done in the same style as the other series entries, are always fun, but perhaps it’s time to retire these anthropomorphic coloring implements. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Let these crayons go back into their box. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-62105-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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