With the exception of a handful of exclamations from restaurateur Alberto, standing nervously outside in crisp white shirt,...
People with pets spell trouble—and opportunity—for a new sidewalk cafe.
With the exception of a handful of exclamations from restaurateur Alberto, standing nervously outside in crisp white shirt, bow tie and long apron, the story is told visually in sequential panels, from one to four on every page. "Come in, We're Open" declares a sign on the door, a chalkboard nearby says "Welcome!" and there's an "Early Bird Special" sign in the window. When Alberto spots a little boy walking in his direction with a big dog, he panics and changes the chalkboard message to "No Dogs Allowed." Crisis averted...temporarily. Then comes a woman with a gray cat, another holding a rabbit and, surprisingly, a couple on either side of a calm kangaroo. Each new animal (and there are several more) prompts a new version of the message on the chalkboard. Alberto notices that all these people with pets are hanging out at a nearby fountain and, worse, that he's losing business to a vendor there with a cart. Thinking quickly, he whips up a big batch of cupcakes and changes the name of his restaurant from "Alberto's City Lights" to "Alberto's Critters Bistro." Success! Ashman's concept is both sophisticated and delightful, with reading and animal-identifying lessons tucked in. Sorra's digital illustrations have bold distinct colors and crisp outlines.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4027-5837-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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
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