An engaging, lively addition to the Mother Goose canon.
Who wouldn’t want to gallivant with Mother Goose?
Chanting the classic nursery rhyme “Girls and Boys Come Out To Play,” that esteemed avian invites a bevy of kids from a city neighborhood to leave their homes and join her for an evening of merriment. The racially diverse, pajama-clad, stuffed-animal–toting children eagerly accept the invitation, accompanied by some dogs and cats. Whom do these adventurers meet on their nighttime jaunt? Why, none other than some of Mother Goose’s most famous characters, including Old King Cole, Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, the fiddling cat from “Hey Diddle Diddle,” and the three men in the tub. After some playtime and a filling repast they help prepare, the kids are more than ready for Mother Goose to lead them home to bed; the exhausted, happy wanderers are last seen all comfortably tucked in, live and toy pets in tow. Text is kept to a minimum on spreads, and the old-fashioned language of the brief narrative is charming. The cheery, bouncy text of the rhyme could turn out to become a favorite of young readers/listeners sitting in laps or hearing this in group sessions. The loose pen-and-ink–and-watercolor illustrations suit the action well, suggesting energetic movement and lighthearted activity. A “cast of characters” is identified at the beginning of the book. Front and rear endpapers each include eight well-known Mother Goose rhymes. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 64% of actual size.)
An engaging, lively addition to the Mother Goose canon. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4713-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems.
Rhyming poems introduce children to anthropomorphized trucks of all sorts, as well as the jobs that they do.
Adorable multiethnic children are the drivers of these 16 trucks—from construction equipment to city trucks, rescue vehicles and a semi—easily standing in for readers, a point made very clear on the final spread. Varying rhyme schemes and poem lengths help keep readers’ attention. For the most part, the rhymes and rhythms work, as in this, from “Cement Mixer”: “No time to wait; / he can’t sit still. / He has to beg your pardon. / For if he dawdles on the way, / his slushy load will harden.” Slonim’s trucks each sport an expressive pair of eyes, but the anthropomorphism stops there, at least in the pictures—Vestergaard sometimes takes it too far, as in “Bulldozer”: “He’s not a bully, either, / although he’s big and tough. / He waits his turn, plays well with friends, / and pushes just enough.” A few trucks’ jobs get short shrift, to mixed effect: “Skid-Steer Loader” focuses on how this truck moves without the typical steering wheel, but “Semi” runs with a royalty analogy and fails to truly impart any knowledge. The acrylic-and-charcoal artwork, set against white backgrounds, keeps the focus on the trucks and the jobs they are doing.
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems. (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5078-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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