A useful narrative that, one fervently hopes, will become obsolete before too long.
These are the times that try everyone’s souls—even a cat’s.
Levin, a rambunctious feline, lives with Jane, a nurse. The Covid-19 pandemic is raging, and Jane, like other medical professionals, works at her hospital for long hours and isn’t at home much. Levin misses her. Then Daniel, Jane’s friend and another community first responder, tells Levin that Jane’s assigned to the isolation unit and won’t be home at all for a while. Daniel cares for Levin and helps him “visit” Jane via phone conferencing. Eventually, Levin moves elsewhere and makes new animal and human friends and enemies. He also willingly becomes something of a community helper himself, knowing that everyone must pull together in a crisis. This gently told, hopeful, nonfrightening tale, translated from Chinese and obviously set in the present moment, isn’t so much a story as it is purpose-driven: It aims to help youngsters easily understand what the current emergency is about and what it demands of everyone. Casting a loving, sympathetic pet as the protagonist makes the story accessible, comprehensible, and upbeat. Children who know frontline workers will find support here. Illustrations are sweet and lively; Levin is spunky, energetic, and personable. Common-sense recommended guidelines about social distancing and mask wearing are incorporated into a spread; the passage of weeks is depicted with digital clocks. Jane and Daniel both have pale skin and straight, brown hair; background characters are diverse.
A useful narrative that, one fervently hopes, will become obsolete before too long. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64074-119-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cardinal Media
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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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
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BOOK REVIEW
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