THREE HENS, A PEACOCK, AND THE ENORMOUS EGG

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THREE HENS, A PEACOCK, AND THE ENORMOUS EGG

Name: THREE HENS, A PEACOCK, AND THE ENORMOUS EGG
Author: Lester L. Laminack
ISBN: 978-1-68263-374-8

by Lester L. Laminack ; illustrated by Henry Cole ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 7, 2023

An out-of-nowhere conclusion will confound youngsters eager for a story of farmyard fun.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A CAT LIKE THAT
by Lester L. Laminack ; illustrated by Nicole Wong

- BOOK REVIEW
THE KING OF BEES
by Lester L. Laminack ; illustrated by Jim LaMarche

- BOOK REVIEW
THREE HENS AND A PEACOCK
by Lester L. Laminack & illustrated by Henry Cole

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)