Unreliable on marine biology but effectively deploying a limited vocabulary.
For pre-readers familiar with screens and too young for Jaws.
A shark (“Swim, Shark. Swim”) sporting a webcam on its head grins at us. Right-hand pages show the webcam feed: the terrified faces of small, shell-less sea creatures exclaiming, “TEETH!” “LOTS OF TEETH!” After the sea life frantically departs (“BYE!”), a pink octopus comes into view. In real life, the octopus is prey, but here the two bow cordially to each other as the shark asks the octopus to dance. “Tango? Mambo? Cha-cha-cha?” wonders the octopus, and they proceed to “swing” and “sway” before the blissed-out octopus and shark part. Suddenly, the following page reveals a huge whale, and Shark is sucked into its maw along with smaller fry. The whale seems to have baleen plates, but everything in its mouth is swallowed down a gullet (with a uvula, which whales don’t have). It’s “very dark” inside the whale, but somehow, when the mouth opens again, shark and fry swim out. Now the “hungry!” shark spots the bottom of a small boat on the surface and jumps in, ejecting the tan-skinned person fishing. As the human swims away in the distance, Shark contentedly reclines, eating an apple abandoned in the quick exit: “Party on, Shark!” Small viewers might struggle with the illustrator’s whale-mouth sequence, but the use of simple, short words makes it a solid choice, and the bright graphics convincingly simulate a camera’s-eye view.
Unreliable on marine biology but effectively deploying a limited vocabulary. (Early reader. 3-6)Pub Date: June 27, 2023
ISBN: 9781665927352
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon Spotlight
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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