A fresh, welcome return for a time-tested tale.
After 30-plus years, McDonald’s acclaimed first title gets bright new illustrations in this reissue.
A hermit crab that’s outgrown his shell seeks a suitable replacement onshore—he needs to stay safe from porcupine fish. His investigations lead him from a too-heavy rock to a too-noisy tin can and on to driftwood (too dark), a plastic pail (too deep), and a burrow (too crowded). After rejecting a fishing net (“too many holes”), the hermit crab is swept out to sea, where a porcupine fish sets its sights on him. The crab races over to a sea snail, whose shell proves empty. Hermit Crab climbs inside, and the porcupine fish swims off. McDonald’s tale sparkles as brightly as ever, with patterned repetition perfect for both group and one-to-one sharing. A former children’s librarian, she helps young children identify with the tiny crab’s quest for safety and independence while tacitly acknowledging that they might know more about the inefficacy of the creature’s test homes. (Driftwood isn’t just dark inside; it floats. And a net’s more hole than not.) Tillotson’s vibrant mixed-media illustrations ramp up the drama early, with the porcupine fish looming offshore as Hermit Crab begins his search. The quest unfolds through double-page spreads, and it all comes to a satisfying resolution, with Hermit Crab in a new home that fits “just right.” Up-to-date facts on hermit crabs and resources are appended.
A fresh, welcome return for a time-tested tale. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780823452194
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again.
Cece loves asking “why” and “what if.”
Her parents encourage her, as does her science teacher, Ms. Curie (a wink to adult readers). When Cece and her best friend, Isaac, pair up for a science project, they choose zoology, brainstorming questions they might research. They decide to investigate whether dogs eat vegetables, using Cece’s schnauzer, Einstein, and the next day they head to Cece’s lab (inside her treehouse). Wearing white lab coats, the two observe their subject and then offer him different kinds of vegetables, alone and with toppings. Cece is discouraged when Einstein won’t eat them. She complains to her parents, “Maybe I’m not a real scientist after all….Our project was boring.” Just then, Einstein sniffs Cece’s dessert, leading her to try a new way to get Einstein to eat vegetables. Cece learns that “real scientists have fun finding answers too.” Harrison’s clean, bright illustrations add expression and personality to the story. Science report inserts are reminiscent of The Magic Schoolbus books, with less detail. Biracial Cece is a brown, freckled girl with curly hair; her father is white, and her mother has brown skin and long, black hair; Isaac and Ms. Curie both have pale skin and dark hair. While the book doesn’t pack a particularly strong emotional or educational punch, this endearing protagonist earns a place on the children’s STEM shelf.
A good introduction to observation, data, and trying again. (glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-249960-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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