An enchanting tale of hope and wonder in the aftermath of disaster.
Roettiger’s illustrated children’s book celebrates a wombat who helps animals displaced by wildfires in Australia.
The story starts as a news report in a television studio featuring a backdrop of Sydney’s cityscape and famous Harbour Bridge, doused in yellow smoke. At the news desk, anchors Koala and Emu comment on the wildfires and how they started: “It’s the driest year on record and left us in a drought. We’ve got temperatures hot enough to melt cars from here to Wagga Wagga.” Kangaroo is at the scene for a special report on Wombat, who, after other animals’ homes were destroyed, offered her home underground as a sanctuary for families of echidnas, rabbits, skinks, and wallabies. Palen’s full-page, muted color illustrations feature whimsical watercolor skies and three-dimensional cartoon-style creatures with detailed pencil-stroke fur and expressive faces. As Wombat tells her story, flashback vignettes depict red, raging flames before transitioning to the safety of the protagonist’s burrow and her many animal guests. The book features an educational section on Australian animals, and an author’s note reveals that rescuers really did discover animals sheltering with wombats during the 2019-20 New South Wales bushfires. Roettiger’s prose is animated and lively, with clear, crisp sentences and a quick, even pace that faithfully mimics traditional TV news. As the book goes on, it skillfully achieves a balance of entertainment and education. Readers will enjoy noticing tiny bilbies donning headsets in the TV studio and Kangaroo’s use of an oven mitt to hold the mic on location; such details are sweetly diverting additions to an already engaging story. There’s also something charming about a story such as this being told by the animals themselves.
An enchanting tale of hope and wonder in the aftermath of disaster.Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781632333759
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Eifrig Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
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