This adventure offers an effective brain exercise in graphic storytelling for young readers—but some may wish for more...
A bespectacled rabbit gets over his fear of bears and finds a new friend in this picture book.
Rabbit is afraid of a lot of things but his worst nightmare of all is bears. When Rabbit gets caught in a snare, he’s terrified that the bear coming to his rescue is actually going to eat him. Bear’s sharp claws make short work of the snare, and his long, pointy teeth scare off a fox, but Rabbit is still suspicious. It isn’t until Bear reveals his own phobia—spiders—that Rabbit realizes his new pal isn’t scary after all. Young readers may be familiar with the theme of appearances being deceiving and frightening-looking creatures turning out to be benevolent. But Lukidis’ (A Real Live Pet!, 2018, etc.) clever framework that allows Rabbit a moment to be a hero, despite his trepidation, is a nice touch. The story, which features an all-male cast, is told in approachable vocabulary. The tale sometimes relies on the cartoonish illustrations to relay the action, including when Rabbit enters Bear’s den to eat carrot stew. But the narrative never fully explains what causes Rabbit to suddenly scream at Bear: “You brought me here to cook me in your stew!” Hannon’s (I Love to Watch You Play, 2019, etc.) images, with full backgrounds, provide enough hints to make filling in the gaps possible.
This adventure offers an effective brain exercise in graphic storytelling for young readers—but some may wish for more details.Pub Date: July 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-9814938-9-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Blue Whale Press LLC
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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