An exciting marine adventure just right for reading aloud.
Down in the deep ocean, a young dolphin explores the beauty of the kelp forest and also discovers it has dangers.
In many places, the ocean floor harbors forests of kelp, which are home to many creatures, both large and small, including Dolphin. As the kelp dips and sways, Dolphin dances with a shoal of sardines. As the sea swells, the kelp ripples and Dolphin plays with sea lions. When the sea becomes stormy and rough, the kelp forest twists and corkscrews around everything in it. Although it is a sheltering place for many, from the diminutive sardines through tuna to a blue whale, predators have learned to hunt in the kelp forest for their sustenance. When Dolphin happens upon a great white shark and then an orca, he must struggle to survive. MacCarthy’s text is delightfully alliterative and onomatopoeic: “the giant kelp / twirls and twists, twirls and twists”; “zig zag zig zag / Dolphin dances for his life in the deep, dark kelp forest.” The powerful use of verbs adds to the drama of underwater sea life and will keep readers turning the pages. Her swirling paintings modulate in palette to suit the mood. The book ends with a fun challenge to young readers: Can you turn back and find the 36 sea creatures mentioned in the story? Each creature here is clearly labeled and identified as inhabiting California’s kelp forests.
An exciting marine adventure just right for reading aloud. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-91095-924-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Otter-Barry
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
A tender book to help little ones make sense of the emotions around prayer.
Actor Metz and songwriter Collins join illustrator Fields in their second faith-related title for young children.
Instead of focusing on the language of prayer—what to say or how to say it—this book explores a topic central to the lives of the very young: their feelings around talking to God. Rhymes and near-rhymes in the AABB verses enumerate the simple challenges and triumphs experienced by a series of animals: “Sometimes I’m sad, not sure what to do. / There are days I feel teary, unhappy, or blue. / I fell off a log. I’m embarrassed and hurt. / My coat and paws are all covered in dirt.” An accompanying illustration depicts a sad wolf pup, a definite contrast to its siblings, who are delighting in their play. The highlight of the book is Fields’ animal characters. Whether happy, nervous, or sad, their expressive faces are easy to read, and their feelings will be familiar to young tots. The beaver’s frustration is palpable, and the tears in the scared raccoon’s eyes may just make readers’ own eyes well up. Some of the animals have a God stand-in to help them with their feelings—a friend or family member—but the final spread shows all the individual animals coming together in a couple of group hugs that express where children can find support (and sweetly defy predator–prey relationships).
A tender book to help little ones make sense of the emotions around prayer. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593691366
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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