A popular topic explored with humor and respect for its furred, feathered, and four- (more or less) legged cast.
“Along with children, First Ladies, and presidents, / the executive mansion had notable residents.”
The veteran versifier offers new stanzas on select animals who occupied the White House (often only briefly) or were at least associated with the chief executives. Readers are likely to be impressed by the sheer variety—not just horses, cats, and dogs in abundance, but a mockingbird that Thomas Jefferson “bought from a slave for five shillings,” John Quincy Adams’ alligator and his wife’s silkworms, Benjamin Harrison’s possums, Teddy Roosevelt’s wild menagerie, and more. Singer writes in casual but controlled metrics that lend each poem a fresh, individual character. She also broadens her general theme both by frequently commenting on the experiences or characters of the animals’ presidential owners (“In the White House, / a mouse is not a welcome resident. / Occasionally, neither / is the sitting president”) and adding observations at the end that will resonate with pet owners far from the nation’s capital and several years away from voting age. In lengthy endnotes she adds still more. McAmis uses clipped bits of paper and found materials to create low-relief collages for each poem. Though he depicts Calvin Coolidge’s pair of lion cubs as tigers, the animals and human figures throughout (the latter all white) have homey, domesticated looks.
A popular topic explored with humor and respect for its furred, feathered, and four- (more or less) legged cast. (bibliography) (Picture book/poetry. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4847-8999-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Another playful imagination-stretcher.
Markle invites children to picture themselves living in the homes of 11 wild animals.
As in previous entries in the series, McWilliam’s illustrations of a diverse cast of young people fancifully imitating wild creatures are paired with close-up photos of each animal in a like natural setting. The left side of one spread includes a photo of a black bear nestling in a cozy winter den, while the right side features an image of a human one cuddled up with a bear. On another spread, opposite a photo of honeybees tending to newly hatched offspring, a human “larva” lounges at ease in a honeycomb cell, game controller in hand, as insect attendants dish up goodies. A child with an eye patch reclines on an orb weaver spider’s web, while another wearing a head scarf constructs a castle in a subterranean chamber with help from mound-building termites. Markle adds simple remarks about each type of den, nest, or burrow and basic facts about its typical residents, then closes with a reassuring reminder to readers that they don’t have to live as animals do, because they will “always live where people live.” A select gallery of traditional homes, from igloo and yurt to mudhif, follows a final view of the young cast waving from a variety of differently styled windows.
Another playful imagination-stretcher. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781339049052
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature.
In a new entry in the Over and Under series, a paddleboarder glimpses humpback whales leaping, floats over a populous kelp forest, and explores life on a beach and in a tide pool.
In this tale inspired by Messner’s experiences in Monterey Bay in California, a young tan-skinned narrator, along with their light-skinned mom and tan-skinned dad, observes in quiet, lyrical language sights and sounds above and below the sea’s serene surface. Switching perspectives and angles of view and often leaving the family’s red paddleboards just tiny dots bobbing on distant swells, Neal’s broad seascapes depict in precise detail bat stars and anchovies, kelp bass, and sea otters going about their business amid rocky formations and the swaying fronds of kelp…and, further out, graceful moon jellies and—thrillingly—massive whales in open waters beneath gliding pelicans and other shorebirds. After returning to the beach at day’s end to search for shells and to spot anemones and decorator crabs, the child ends with nighttime dreams of stars in the sky meeting stars in the sea. Appended nature notes on kelp and 21 other types of sealife fill in details about patterns and relationships in this rich ecosystem. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
More thoughtful, sometimes exhilarating encounters with nature. (author’s note, further reading) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-79720-347-8
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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