Nice but unexceptional—once the fun of lifting the gatefolds is past.
The animals have their own, surprising ways of having fun.
Seven two-page spreads offer a fairly normal picture of zoo activity accompanied by a bright bit of verse. But open the folded-over right-hand page and... the monkeys "swing from vines / with the greatest of ease. / They gobble-gulp bananas / and screech in the trees. / But when no-one's looking...," they frolic in a big swimming pool, wearing bathing caps and goggles, with one even reading a book on a raft, a drink (complete with umbrella) clutched in one foot. The giraffes secretly like to water ski, the seals dance in a beautiful ballroom, and the elephants love to go skateboarding. Who knew? The bears sniff and growl when the visitors to the zoo are watching, but secretly they have a snappy combo of piano, bass, flute and tambourine. The final spread has all the animals staring at the reader: "When no-one is looking / what do you do?" All different kinds of play turns out to be the answer. Fraillon's poems have crisp rhythms and some nice phonic touches; with no verse on the hidden pages, though, they feel rather incomplete. Masciullo's paintings are bright and beautifully textured, but her figures are disappointingly generic.
Nice but unexceptional—once the fun of lifting the gatefolds is past. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1921502460
Page Count: 25
Publisher: Trafalgar Square
Review Posted Online: April 10, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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