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POLLY AND HER DUCK COSTUME

THE TRUE STORY OF A LITTLE BLIND RESCUE GOAT

From the GOA Kids - Goats of Anarchy series

Adorable but not exactly substantial.

A small goat with a disability stars in this animal-rescue success story.

Already the subject of several online videos, Polly is introduced here with cozy painted illustrations centering on a floppy-eared kid and featuring only partial views of her white human “mom.” Virtually blind and taken in by Lauricella, the proprietor of a New Jersey rescue facility called “Goats of Anarchy,” Polly finds comfort swaddled in a soothing blanket at first. But that slips off when she wanders around the house, so she is dressed in a toddler-sized Halloween duckling costume—a solution that not only keeps her content but cranks the cuteness factor up about a thousandfold as she draws a diverse audience of fascinated children at the grocery store and later gambols in a grassy field with Pippa, another rescued kid who becomes a constant companion. The author adds anthropomorphic language to this simple profile (“ ‘Where’s my mom?’ wondered Polly”) but closes with notes on Polly’s “true story,” illustrated, rather counterintuitively, with photos of the caprine fashion plate modeling several outfits.

Adorable but not exactly substantial. (Informational picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-63322-418-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Walter Foster Jr.

Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017

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DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE SLEIGH!

A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.

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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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PIRATES DON'T TAKE BATHS

Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: March 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011

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