Less a romp than a stroll—enjoyable but a little sedate.
A gallery of shark shapes and sizes, attitudes and appetites.
Bright (and forgivably inaccurate) colors saturate otherwise-simple spreads that catalog some of the many species of sharks that live in our planet’s oceans. Lilting text introduces different sharks in opposing and oversimplified terms: “Some sharks are bottom dwellers… / but other sharks are surface breakers” (referencing the goblin shark and the great white, respectively). Very general differences in ferocity (whale shark and bull shark), pickiness (basking shark and tiger shark), social habits (lemon shark and cookiecutter shark), and climate preferences (Greenland shark and hammerhead shark) frame each new pair of sharks, with each presented on its own spread—visually striking but counterproductive to the text’s attempt at continuity. More-specific facts and explanations are omitted, hopefully prompting curiosity that will send readers to their libraries or, if they’re lucky, their local aquarium, where Paul somewhat flimsily reminds them sharks can be visited up close. Unfortunately, and despite colorful and inviting illustrations, these same omissions also make this a book unlikely to be called on more than once or twice. Those with “Baby Shark” fans to satisfy should try pairing this with Shawn Loves Sharks, by Curtis Manley and illustrated by Tracy Subisak (2017), or Misunderstood Shark, by Amy Dyckman and illustrated by Scott Magoon (2018), to up both the entertainment and information values.
Less a romp than a stroll—enjoyable but a little sedate. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6702-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
