Kudos for not dumbing it down, however. A more cohesive theme would make for a more understandable overall presentation, but...
An original concept that begins simply and ends up surprisingly—and somewhat confusingly—complex.
Award winner Schaefer and illustrator Neal team up to create a picture book about the number of times particular events occur in the lifetimes of 11 different animals. Neal’s illustrations—appealingly retro in their understated style and muted color scheme—accurately portray the numeric facts presented: “In one lifetime, this female red kangaroo will birth 50 joeys”—and voilà, there’s a double-page spread of 50 baby kangaroos. Readers (or listeners) will enjoy counting the joeys, sea horses, alligator eggs or spots on the giraffe. It’s all fun and games until the backmatter arrives. Then, facts about each animal (Latin name, habitat, lifespan) and convoluted mathematical explanations of how Schaefer arrived at each of her numbers are presented. A more child-friendly explanation of averages and how to calculate them follows. Readers are invited to use this newly acquired knowledge to ponder two math word problems given at the end of the book. Is this book about the natural world? Counting? Statistics? Solving math word problems? It’s hard to say. A great deal of information is presented, for a range of ages.
Kudos for not dumbing it down, however. A more cohesive theme would make for a more understandable overall presentation, but readers will get their money’s worth. (Informational picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4521-0714-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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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Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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