Not captivating but fun for some.
A simple, rhyming text describes one day in the life of bugs with enormous eyes and red capes as they save many other insects from harm.
Orange front endpapers and green rear endpapers sport yellow, comical outlines of various bugs with such facts as “ANTS carry many times their own weight!” (This ant raises a dumbbell.) Fine print on the copyright page explains that “true bugs” have a proboscis and also gives technical information about the colorful artwork. The art rarely shows proboscises, but then again, it shows such things as roaches playing baseball. The first double-page spread reveals three heroic bugs in capes and begins a litany that repeats in between other verses throughout: “Antennae up, eyes down. / Buzzing all around the town. / Super Bugs, Super Bugs, / mighty, mighty Super Bugs!” The rescues include saving a stinkbug from falling, pulling ants and termites from a fire, and pushing a grasshopper away from a “whopper bopper”—a large tomato. In addition to the repeated chorus, there are other catchy phrases, such as, “Beetles cheer, never fear.” After a long day of heroics, colors fade to twilight tones and fireflies blink goodnight—too quick a conversion after many pages of vibrant color and intense activity. Moreover, the comical cuteness both does away with two of the insects’ limbs and makes it hard to distinguish stinkbug from cricket from roach, leading to critter fatigue.
Not captivating but fun for some. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 28, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-68756-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
Children who love dogs will find this amusing the first time through, but the humor palls quickly.
In rhyming text, a bug-eyed pug named Pig stubbornly refuses to share with the almost equally bug-eyed Trevor, the “wiener dog” he lives with—and soon gets his comeuppance.
The book begins showing the eponymous dog astride a large, red bowl of dog food, tongue hanging out and all four paws gripping the bowl. It perfectly matches the text: “Pig was a Pug / and I’m sorry to say, / he was greedy and selfish / in most every way.” A bit of humor comes through when the text plays on the adage about pigs by reminding readers that “pugs cannot fly.” However, most of the text is composed of trite, tired rhymes. The ending is a punch line whose funny picture will have little ones giggling. However, the ultimate “lesson” is a rather dark cynicism, more appropriate to children older than the age suggested by the rhymes, the art, and even the publisher. There may be some vicarious thrills for those who have witnessed excessive selfishness. The artwork is humorous, although Pig’s appearance is sometimes more grotesque than funny—particularly when he shouts at Trevor. Both male dogs’ facial expressions and body language add to the humor, and dog lovers will appreciate Pig’s array of colorful toys. Scansion is spotty, which should not happen in verses so dependent on rhythm and rhyme to entertain their young audience.
Children who love dogs will find this amusing the first time through, but the humor palls quickly. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Dec. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-338-11245-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A funny tale about stress and an ever upping ante, with a comforting end.
Something is preventing Owl from falling asleep.
Owl leans back against his white pillow and headboard. “Squeek!” says something underneath the bed. Owl’s never heard that sound before, so he fastens his pink bathrobe and answers the front door. Nobody. It must be the wind; back to bed. Bidding himself goodnight, he climbs into bed—and hears the noise again. Time after time, he pops out of bed seeking the squeaker. Is it in the cupboard? He empties the shelves. Under the floor? He pulls up his floorboards. As Owl’s actions ratchet up—he destroys the roof and smashes the walls, all in search of the squeak—so does his anxiety. Not until he hunkers down in bed under the night sky (his bed is now outdoors, because the house’s roof and walls are gone), frantically clutching his pillow, does he see what readers have seen all along: a small, gray mouse. In simple illustrations with black outlines, textured coloring, and foreshortened perspective, Pizzoli plays mischievously with mouse placement. Sometimes the mouse is behind Owl or just out of his sightline; other times, the mouse is on a solid, orange-colored page across the spread from Owl, which removes him from Owl’s scene in a rather postmodern manner. Is the mouse toying with Owl? Who knows?
A funny tale about stress and an ever upping ante, with a comforting end. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-1275-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
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