Full of fun and sure to evoke giggles, meows, bowwows, and squeaks.
Whoever heard of a cat that can’t meow?
Three animals unable to make the appropriate noises—the cat can’t meow, the dog can’t bark, and the mouse can’t squeak—are determined to remedy their unfortunate situations. But what can they do, and to whom should they turn? A wise (or perhaps not-so-wise) owl suggests they ask the old lady in the tumbledown house if she knows of a spell to solve the problem. Stylized and very appealing mixed-media illustrations portray the trio as they approach the old lady, a purple- and blue- and orange- and pink-haired (by turn) eccentric, who is perfectly happy to try to find a solution. But whoops! Things do not go according to plan, and as spells are cast and the tumbledown house whisks around, comic results follow. Judicious repetition of relevant words will help young readers join in and follow along, and youngsters already familiar with animals and their sounds will enjoy identifying each mishap. Is a happy ending possible? A funny one is guaranteed! Though the rhymes are sometimes bumpy and lose their flow, the text is clear and entertaining, and the changing palette and quirky tableaux full of action are a thorough delight.
Full of fun and sure to evoke giggles, meows, bowwows, and squeaks. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-8180-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Templar/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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
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