A missed opportunity to debunk hurtful gossip and promote friendship.
Rumors abound and cause a lonely welcome for the newest zoo animal.
At a zoo in an unnamed location, a wombat is arriving “all the way from Australia!” When Parrot hears the zookeepers say they must be “very careful” with him, he lets the other animals know, starting with Seal, who interprets Parrot’s announcement as a warning. Seal tells Chameleon, who informs Owl, and the news travels on and on. Soon all the animals are terrified of this wild wombat, whose fictitious traits soon include sharp teeth, wings, fangs, and invisibility. When the adorable, furry wombat does arrive, he asks Parrot if he’s the only animal at the zoo, as none of the animals have stuck around to greet him. Each spread in the chain of gossip features a half-page flap that depicts each animal’s overreaction to the ever more alarming wombat rumors. One terrifying flap flips to reveal a lion’s fiendish snarl and sharp teeth! The book ends with a sign, presumably for the wombat’s area in the zoo, that lists facts about wombats, including their endangered status. Bright, painterly illustrations depict the animals’ exaggerated expressions and hilarious surroundings—an elephant taking a bubble bath, lions sunbathing and grilling hot dogs. The lack of a satisfying resolution leaves readers wanting better treatment for the new wombat, however.
A missed opportunity to debunk hurtful gossip and promote friendship. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-988-8341-79-5
Page Count: 44
Publisher: minedition
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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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