The heavy-handed lesson and underdeveloped characters hinder this picture book’s attempt to convey a positive message.
Wolf—the star of several picture books originally published in France—has many forest friends, but his inability to regulate his emotions interferes with his relationships.
Wolf’s friends decide to instruct him in various self-management techniques, hoping he’ll learn self-control. His first lesson is yoga, which he finds to be quite funny. Next he tries both exercise and baking. When his female love interest (the unfortunately named Wolfette) makes a good-natured joke at his expense, he explodes in anger and calls his friends hurtful names. Later, when building a house, Wolf makes a mistake and is on the verge of a meltdown. He remembers his initial yoga class and uses the techniques he learned to calm down. After this one instance of successful self-management, Wolf’s friends celebrate and praise his transformation. The emotions Wolf experiences on his journey, such as fear, pride, jealousy, and shame, are noted in boldface text. The emphasis on naming feelings and the acknowledgement that different self-management techniques can be effective for different personalities are highlights. Unfortunately, the overall story is clunky. While this title would serve as a good tool for an explicit social-emotional–learning lesson, as a general read, the overall effect is lackluster at best.
The heavy-handed lesson and underdeveloped characters hinder this picture book’s attempt to convey a positive message. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-2-7338-6147-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Auzou Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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