The combination of a simple but satisfying plot and vibrant art adds up to a story that succeeds on several levels. Yes, we...
In this amusing early reader, a young left-handed artist ignores his talented poodle until Pup runs away to join the circus.
The little boy, Tate, wears a black beret and a jaunty, red scarf as he creates pencil sketches of his cats, flowers and insects in his garden, and clowns at the circus. Pup makes desperate bids for Tate’s attention, painting his own fur with tubes of paint, swinging from a tree branch, and juggling balls for the clowns. When Pup follows the clowns and joins the circus, Tate is sad at the loss of his pet. He posts 10 colored-pencil portraits of Pup outside the circus tent, leading to a happy reunion of boy and dog. The story’s clever construction has a brightly colored illustration of Tate busily sketching on one double-page spread followed by a spread displaying Tate’s large, black-and-white drawing that includes 10 similar items in a busy seek-and-find design. The minimal text works well as an early reader, but this clever story will also be a fine choice for preschoolers who are learning to count to 10, and it even teaches a little about different art methods. Lively illustrations in watercolor and ink are filled with tiny details and funny expressions for Tate and Pup and their feline friends. All the human characters, including the clowns, present white.
The combination of a simple but satisfying plot and vibrant art adds up to a story that succeeds on several levels. Yes, we can find Pup! And we’d like to see him (and Tate) again. (Early reader/picture book. 2-8)Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3940-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A bit predictable but pleasantly illustrated.
Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault’s classic alphabet book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (1989) gets the Halloween treatment.
Chung follows the original formula to the letter. In alphabetical order, each letter climbs to the top of a tree. They are knocked back to the ground in a jumble before climbing up in sequence again. In homage to the spooky holiday theme, they scale a “creaky old tree,” and a ghostly jump scare causes the pileup. The chunky, colorful art is instantly recognizable. The charmingly costumed letters (“H swings a tail. / I wears a patch. J and K don / bows that don’t match”) are set against a dark backdrop, framed by pages with orange or purple borders. The spreads feature spiderwebs and jack-o’-lanterns. The familiar rhyme cadence is marred by the occasional clunky or awkward phrase; in particular, the adapted refrain of “Chicka chicka tricka treat” offers tongue-twisting fun, but it’s repeatedly followed by the disappointing half-rhyme “Everybody sneaka sneak.” Even this odd construction feels shoehorned into place, since “sneaking” makes little sense when every character in the book is climbing together. The final line of the book ends on a more satisfying note, with “Everybody—time to eat!”
A bit predictable but pleasantly illustrated. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: July 15, 2025
ISBN: 9781665954785
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
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