A fitting addition to the annals of doggy courage.
A stirring tribute to an abandoned dog who became a Coast Guard hero.
Inspired by true stories about a dog she actually met in the 1960s, Polacco’s dramatic tale features two nautical rescues in which Vera—an unofficial (at first) mascot on what is now called Coast Guard Island in the San Francisco Bay area—played significant, lifesaving roles. Midsized, flop-eared, and wholly winning, Vera is surrounded in the ink-and-marker illustrations with adoring sailors of diverse skin tone who eagerly adopt her as a puppy in an early illustration, though her reception by the commander is not so assured. With her nautical heroics she eventually even wins over the base’s crusty, cigar-chomping “Ol’ Man.” The author herself comes into view years later when, as a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals worker, she witnesses the old dog’s last days and formal military burial beneath a memorial of crossed anchors. Though some, maybe all, of the dialogue is invented (“ ‘Cast off, mates—lives hang in the balance!’ he bellowed”), a closing photo taken on a recent visit to the island attests to the memorial’s existence, and Polacco’s account of her search for it makes a mildly suspenseful coda.
A fitting addition to the annals of doggy courage. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4227-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure.
It’s not truffles but doubloons that tickle this porcine wayfarer’s fancy.
Funke and Meyer make another foray into chapter-book fare after Emma and the Blue Genie (2014). Here, mariner Stout Sam and deckhand Pip eke out a comfortable existence on Butterfly Island ferrying cargo to and fro. Life is good, but it takes an unexpected turn when a barrel washes ashore containing a pig with a skull-and-crossbones pendant around her neck. It soon becomes clear that this little piggy, dubbed Julie, has the ability to sniff out treasure—lots of it—in the sea. The duo is pleased with her skills, but pride goeth before the hog. Stout Sam hands out some baubles to the local children, and his largess attracts the unwanted attention of Barracuda Bill and his nasty minions. Now they’ve pignapped Julie, and it’s up to the intrepid sailors to save the porker and their own bacon. The succinct word count meets the needs of kids looking for early adventure fare. The tale is slight, bouncy, and amusing, though Julie is never the piratical buccaneer the book’s cover seems to suggest. Meanwhile, Meyer’s cheery watercolors are as comfortable diagramming the different parts of a pirate vessel as they are rendering the dread pirate captain himself.
A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure. (Adventure. 7-9)Pub Date: June 23, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-37544-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
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