An upbeat tale laced with a clear, much-needed message of environmental stewardship.
A crab searches for new digs.
Finding beach real estate’s hard, but hermit crab Sheldon’s shell has become very snug, and he must locate a roomier home. He has no time to lose; hungry seagulls are circling overhead. One possibility—a tin can—appears, but it’s noisy and smelly. Sheldon’s sad: A homeless crab is a sunbaked, dried-out crab. Myrtle the turtle escorts him to her beach shop, which is filled with fancy outfits. Sheldon gleefully tries on numerous, ultimately unsuitable styles, then spies a sturdy-looking plastic bottle: It’s perfect! Uh, no. Scuttling inside, Sheldon gets stuck. Myrtle watches helplessly as Sheldon rolls away and lands in a hole. Happily, a young girl named Kaia frees him, then shows him the bucket of shells she’s collected. Sheldon finally selects his perfect new home, and Kaia realizes that the shells belong to the beach, not her. Going forward, she’ll help with beach-cleanup efforts, and she organizes a group of eager kids on the spot. They work hard and clear the beach of human detritus. This lively U.K. import, written in bouncy, present-tense verse, is a loud clarion call to keep beaches free of carelessly strewn human clutter. Sheldon’s full of personality; his plight will arouse children’s empathy and hopefully inspire a “let’s get working” mindset. The colorful, lively cartoon illustrations depict both messy and pristine beach vistas. Kaia is brown-skinned; background figures are diverse.
An upbeat tale laced with a clear, much-needed message of environmental stewardship. (how can you help the environment? note on “Surfers Against Sewage”) (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 4, 2024
ISBN: 9781780558301
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Buster Books
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
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
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BOOK REVIEW
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
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