Though the plot is accessible to the very young, its apocalyptic vision may not be.
Can a little boy and a big cat start a new society?
Luka huddles inside a large industrial pipe, surrounded by rubble that includes the top of the Statue of Liberty. It's "a strange world," Elliott tells readers. "There were no trees, no plants...and no animals." Except for the last tiger, crosshatched black and golden yellow against a smoky background of metal waste and grim skies. Luka rescues the tiger, whose paw is painfully caught in a tin can, and the tiger thanks him with a flower. A friendship is born, and the two begin some serious play. But a plane soars by trailing a big net; the tiger is captured and caged, and Luka can't get near him, so thick are the throngs of gaping people. Luka decides to hide in the tiger's old cave, where he finds a lush garden! Surely the people won't want to keep the tiger caged once they see it. Standing atop the tiger's cage, he shouts, "Follow me!" The people eagerly do, and, finding this verdant paradise, their despair turns to hope. "Please teach us," they implore the tiger, and for the first time since he was playing with Luka, the tiger smiles. Starkly evocative illustrations with effective use of color and minimal text convey Elliott's delicate fable of friendship and concern for posterity.
Though the plot is accessible to the very young, its apocalyptic vision may not be. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7459-6384-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lion/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012
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
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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