Just pure, wooly-headed fun.
A passel of sheep, who vaguely resemble characters from the titular movie, are quietly grazing on the hillside when they are startled by a loud noise overhead.
Their curiosity piqued, they skip to the hilltop and spy an air race about to begin, complete with men in goggles and a brass band. The sheep can’t resist the urge to check out a bright yellow airplane standing nearby. One thing leads to another, and soon, the eight sheep find themselves squished into the tiny cockpit, soaring above the fields, swerving, swooping and looping with gay abandon. Their wild aerial journey takes them on fantastical, if somewhat stereotyped, adventures all over the world. They can-can in France, flamenco in Spain, encounter a Yeti in Tibet, are (politically incorrectly) offered mutton curry in India and are threatened by crocs in Florida. Suddenly homesick, the errant sheep fly home and are grazing on their familiar hillside before the chap who owns the plane can guess the identity of the “thieves in white sweaters” who stole it. This lighthearted romp, full of jokey references to an almost 50-year-old movie, will amuse young readers who are not bothered by logistical improbability. The seamless melding of Bently’s catchy British doggerel with Roberts’ elegant colored-pencil–and-watercolor illustrations makes this an attractive choice.
Just pure, wooly-headed fun. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4677-4935-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Andersen Press USA
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
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
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems.
Rhyming poems introduce children to anthropomorphized trucks of all sorts, as well as the jobs that they do.
Adorable multiethnic children are the drivers of these 16 trucks—from construction equipment to city trucks, rescue vehicles and a semi—easily standing in for readers, a point made very clear on the final spread. Varying rhyme schemes and poem lengths help keep readers’ attention. For the most part, the rhymes and rhythms work, as in this, from “Cement Mixer”: “No time to wait; / he can’t sit still. / He has to beg your pardon. / For if he dawdles on the way, / his slushy load will harden.” Slonim’s trucks each sport an expressive pair of eyes, but the anthropomorphism stops there, at least in the pictures—Vestergaard sometimes takes it too far, as in “Bulldozer”: “He’s not a bully, either, / although he’s big and tough. / He waits his turn, plays well with friends, / and pushes just enough.” A few trucks’ jobs get short shrift, to mixed effect: “Skid-Steer Loader” focuses on how this truck moves without the typical steering wheel, but “Semi” runs with a royalty analogy and fails to truly impart any knowledge. The acrylic-and-charcoal artwork, set against white backgrounds, keeps the focus on the trucks and the jobs they are doing.
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems. (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5078-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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