Lyrical language and realistic illustrations honor the natural world and a loving relationship.
A timeless story about being one with nature.
Although set in Scotland, this story could occur anywhere with tree-covered hills and valleys, deer, and humans with caring hearts. In the rural home of an unnamed boy and his mother, both with ginger hair and pale complexions, drawings of the animals the boy has helped and a bookcase full of field guides dominate a wall. The boy is clearly at home in the wild, and when he finds an abandoned fawn, naturally he brings her home to care for. His mother sets the limits: “She can stay till she is strong, / but the wild is where fawns belong.” While spring turns to summer, then to fall, the boy and deer, named Alba, are happy and inseparable. When the fawn returns to the wild, the dejected “boy sits silent, alone as the moon” beneath a pine tree, his head bowed on his arms. A sudden storm, gently but effectively evoked in both text and delicate line-and-color illustrations, sends the boy racing through the woods, “for he knows roaring storms / do not care about gentle fawns.” The boy is soon lost, but his once-helpless fawn “leaps, / from fallen tree to slippery stone” to become the boy’s rescuer and comforter. Terms specific to the Scottish countryside, like burn and glen, will prompt discussion, as should the caution to leave actual wild animals undisturbed.
Lyrical language and realistic illustrations honor the natural world and a loving relationship. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-78250-713-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Floris
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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