This volume may even lure children (and adults) back to the farm.
Engaging color photos depict smiling farmers and fishermen (and fisherwoman) and gleeful children eating their products.
The colors are intense, and the prolific photographer captures her subjects from all over the U.S. with big smiles, often in midbite. Adults are of different races and genders, but many are white males. The children are very diverse. The people who “grow, raise and catch” are grouped by product: vegetables, berries, citrus, and fruit; wheat, rice, potato, and corn; dairy, beef, chicken, and pig; and fish, shellfish, and lobster. The last pages mention family farms and urban gardens. Starting with black-and-white photos from the early 20th century, the book makes an Oz-like switch to full color. The text mentions the recent locavore trend of farmers markets and farm stands. Each double-page spread is laid out as a grid with several photos and a block or two of text (white letters on a dark-colored background). Simple, declarative sentences describe foods and people. Interesting facts are mentioned: “Corn always has an even number of rows.” Some may wish there could have been a distinction made among different lettuce varieties in the assertion that “even though it’s mostly made up of water, it’s very nutritious.” But that’s a small quibble. This will prove to be an attractive, useful book for food and nutrition units in the lower grades.
This volume may even lure children (and adults) back to the farm. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3643-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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
Totes adorbs.
A cuddly, squishy pug’s puggy-wuggy diary.
Equipped with both #pugunicorn and #pughotdog outfits, pug Baron von Bubbles (aka Bub) is the kind of dog that always dresses to impress. Bub also makes lots of memorable faces, such as the “Hey, you’re not the boss of me!” expression aimed at Duchess, the snooty pink house cat. Some of Bub’s favorite things include skateboarding, a favorite teddy, and eating peanut butter. Bub also loves Bella, who adopted Bub from a fair—it was “love at first sniff.” Together, Bub and Bella do a lot of arts and crafts. Their latest project: entering Bella’s school’s inventor challenge by making a super-duper awesome rocket. But, when the pesky neighborhood squirrel, Nutz, makes off with Bub’s bear, Bub accidentally ruins their project. How will they win the contest? More importantly, how will Bella ever forgive him? May’s cutesy, full-color cartoon art sets the tone for this pug-tastic romp for the new-to–chapter-books crowd. Emojilike faces accentuate Bub’s already expressive character design. Bub’s infectious first-person narration pushes the silly factor off the charts. In addition to creating the look and feel of a diary, the lined paper helps readers follow the eight-chapter story. Most pages have fewer than five sentences, often broken into smaller sections. Additional text appears in color-coded speech bubbles. Bella presents white.
Totes adorbs. (Fiction. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-53003-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
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