Smoothly written and gently informative, this is a nice addition to the elementary-level nature shelf.
With its rubbery ducklike bill, reptilian walk, and venomous spurs, the puzzling platypus is a mammal like no other.
This curious Australian creature lays eggs and then provides milk for its young. Whiting’s introduction emphasizes physiology, habits, diet, and feeding behavior. There's a two-level text for reading aloud or alone: a chronicle of a male platypus’s nighttime activities, constantly in motion as he forages in a pool surrounded by gum trees, plus a paragraph of extra, relevant facts presented in a smaller font. A page of expository backmatter summarizes the animal’s major characteristics, tells where they can be found, and mentions threats to its survival. An index also provides a list of important platypus words (bill, monotreme, spurs). Jackson's mixed-media illustrations have the appearance of paint applied over lines done with a red pencil or thin brush. With their dark colors and wavery lines they're sometimes obscure—as is the actual animal in the wild. First published in Australia, this storylike portrayal would pair well with Sneed B. Collard and Andrew Plant’s A Platypus, Probably (2005), which tells more about the animal's ancient history and natural history and has considerably more detailed, lifelike illustrations.
Smoothly written and gently informative, this is a nice addition to the elementary-level nature shelf. (Informational picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8098-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
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
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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