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CHARLIE THE RANCH DOG

Name: CHARLIE THE RANCH DOG
Author: Ree Drummond
ISBN: 978-0-06-221909-1

WHERE'S THE BACON?

From the Charlie the Ranch Dog series

by Ree Drummond ; illustrated by Diane deGroat ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2013

Fans of Charlie’s previous picture books will like reading more about his life on the ranch, but others might concur with...

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Basset hound Charlie learns to share with a visiting yellow Lab named Rowdy in this mildly entertaining early reader.

Charlie has previously starred in several picture books about his life on the ranch owned by author Drummond. This offering for beginning readers, the first in a series, uses Drummond’s characters and deGroat’s illustration style from the previous picture books, although the text and illustrations here are done by others (presumably the Amanda Glickman and Rick Whipple “gratefully acknowledge[d]” on the copyright page). The slight plot involves a visit from Rowdy, who is (of course) a boisterous sort whose personality doesn’t mesh well with the laconic basset hound. Rowdy takes over Charlie’s food and bed, invades his “personal space” and cozies up to Charlie’s owner. After Rowdy is banished to an outside doghouse, Charlie takes pity on him and invites him inside to share the sofa for a nap. The illustrations help convey the canine personalities through amusing expressions on the dogs’ faces, and Charlie’s little chipmunk friend is hidden on each spread for young readers to find.

Fans of Charlie’s previous picture books will like reading more about his life on the ranch, but others might concur with Rowdy as he naps on the sofa: “Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.” (Early reader. 5-8)

Pub Date: July 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-06-221909-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
CHARLIE THE RANCH DOG
by Ree Drummond & illustrated by Diane deGroat

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THE TOAD

From the Disgusting Critters series

by Elise Gravel ; illustrated by Elise Gravel ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 5, 2016

A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor

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Having surveyed worms, spiders, flies, and head lice, Gravel continues her Disgusting Critters series with a quick hop through toad fact and fancy.

The facts are briefly presented in a hand-lettered–style typeface frequently interrupted by visually emphatic interjections (“TOXIN,” “PREY,” “EWWW!”). These are, as usual, paired to simply drawn cartoons with comments and punch lines in dialogue balloons. After casting glances at the common South American ancestor of frogs and toads, and at such exotic species as the Emei mustache toad (“Hey ladies!”), Gravel focuses on the common toad, Bufo bufo. Using feminine pronouns throughout, she describes diet and egg-laying, defense mechanisms, “warts,” development from tadpole to adult, and of course how toads shed and eat their skins. Noting that global warming and habitat destruction have rendered some species endangered or extinct, she closes with a plea and, harking back to those South American origins, an image of an outsized toad, arm in arm with a dark-skinned lad (in a track suit), waving goodbye: “Hasta la vista!”

A light dose of natural history, with occasional “EWWW!” for flavor . (Informational picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: July 5, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-77049-667-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tundra Books

Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
THIS IS MY BRAIN!
by Elise Gravel ; illustrated by Elise Gravel

- BOOK REVIEW
EVERYBODY!
by Elise Gravel ; illustrated by Elise Gravel

- BOOK REVIEW
KILLER UNDERWEAR INVASION!
by Elise Gravel ; illustrated by Elise Gravel

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KNIGHT OWL AND EARLY BIRD

From the Knight Owl series , Vol. 2

by Christopher Denise ; illustrated by Christopher Denise ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 2024

An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts.

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Can knightly deeds bring together a feathered odd couple who are on opposite daily schedules?

Having won over a dragon (and millions of fans) in the Caldecott Honor–winning Knight Owl (2022), the fierce yet impossibly cute nocturnal, armor-clad owlet faces a new challenge—sleep deprivation—in the wake of taking on Early Bird, a trainee who rises with the sun and chatters interminably: “I made pancakes! Do you like pancakes? I love pancakes! Where’s the syrup?” It’s enough to test the patience of even the knightliest of owls, and eventually Knight Owl explodes in anger. But although Early Bird is even smaller than her mentor, she turns out to be just as determined to achieve knighthood. After he tells her to leave, she acquits herself so nobly in a climactic encounter with a pack of wolves that she earns a place at the castle. Denise proves a dab hand at depicting genuinely slinky, scary wolves as well as slipping cheerfully anachronistic newspapers and other sight gags into his realistically wrought medieval settings to underscore the tale’s tongue-in-cheek tone. Better yet, a final view of the doughty duo sitting down together to a lavish pancake breakfast/dinner at dusk ends the episode in a sweet rush of syrup and bonhomie.

An immersive, charming read and convincing proof again that even small bodies can house stout hearts. (Picture book. 5-8)