This delightful story about a passionate insect collector may attract new converts.
A girl receives validation for her unusual hobby from an unexpected source.
Evie likes to observe and collect bugs; her family, not so much. When she learns that her extended family will be arriving, she hides her critters in her bedroom. “What could possibly go wrong?” Evie wonders. She finds out the next day as the relatives, including tall, formidable Great Gran, descend upon the household—and the bugs choose that moment to join them. They get into the luncheon and inside Evie’s brother’s pants. Great Gran demands an explanation. A chagrined Evie confesses that the critters are her pets. Instead of scolding Evie, Great Gran turns out to be an ardent bug enthusiast herself. She encourages Evie’s “curious mind,” suggests they build the creatures fancy accommodations, and foresees that Evie will make exciting discoveries one day (backmatter notes that this tale was inspired by entomologist Evelyn Chessman). This charming, gently humorous U.K. import is told through jaunty verse that scans well. It will appeal especially to bug-loving children—no fuss here about a female bug connoisseur—but will also resonate with youngsters who simply love the natural world or are devoted to an unusual hobby. Laudably, the adults in Evie’s life—even her previously grossed-out parents—praise her for her passion. The cozy, colorful digital illustrations are filled with lush scenes of nature. Evie and Great Gran are light-skinned; the family is multiracial.
This delightful story about a passionate insect collector may attract new converts. (show bugs some love!) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781682636558
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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