An out-of-nowhere conclusion will confound youngsters eager for a story of farmyard fun.
Farm life will never be the same.
In this follow-up to Three Hens and a Peacock (2011), a truck passing the Tuckers’ farm accidentally drops a crate containing the titular enormous egg. Three hens—Mildred, Martha, and Mabel—investigate alongside the farm’s old hound and a peacock. None of the chickens are large enough to sit on the egg to keep it warm, so a schedule is made in which the old hound keeps the egg warm during the day and the three hens team up with the peacock to keep it warm at night. All the while, they try to imagine what could be inside. The egg finally hatches to reveal what appears to be an ostrich (though it’s never identified as such by the text). The farm doesn’t go back to normal, because, as revealed on the endpapers, the light-skinned Tuckers also had a baby. The end. Wait...what? For all the buildup of the egg, the chick gets only a few lines of attention before the book concludes and we see the animals abruptly shift focus to the Tuckers, who are admiring a bundle in a crib. Though Cole’s acrylic, oil, and colored pencil illustrations depict a cozy farm setting, the animal inhabitants making for an expressive crew, readers will be mystified by the sudden swerve and stop, so much so that keenly sensed caregivers may actually hear the squealing of brakes when the final pages are reached. It’s an odd, hindered ending to what started out as an interesting tale. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An out-of-nowhere conclusion will confound youngsters eager for a story of farmyard fun. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-68263-374-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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