A slight story that’s more useful than it is satisfying
With a loud “Eek!” an ostrich named Bird hides its head in the sand at every “peep.”
Elephant encourages ostrich to “Peek, Bird!” The originator of the “peep” turns out to be only the friendly Ape. This simple scenario is repeated when Sloth peeps, but when it’s a mouse that peeps, Elephant is the one crying, “EEEEEEK!” Now it’s Bird’s turn to encourage Elephant to “peek,” before all the animals play a game of hide-and-seek. In companion title Stop, Fox! the action focuses on the talkative Fox, who bothers Bird, Ape, and Cub (a bear) with incessant chatter. But Fox’s talking puts Sloth to sleep. The uncluttered layout in both titles is a plus, but the artwork is otherwise undistinguished. The simply rendered animals have a generic look that nevertheless may result in confusion. Ape, for instance, has a tail even though apes are tailless, and masked Sloth may well easily be initially mistaken for a raccoon. Bird has an ostrich’s characteristically luxuriant lashlike fringe at the eyes and is the only animal gendered female in the publisher copy (no characters are gendered in the text). The sentences are brief and repetitive, but the text’s brevity means that words may not be repeated frequently enough to be absorbed by the youngest readers. Hide and Peek uses just 17 words with three basic sentence patterns. The 30-word story in Stop, Fox! is more fully developed, with sentences and phrases repeated more frequently.
A slight story that’s more useful than it is satisfying . (Early reader. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8075-7208-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
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
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
