A popular topic explored with humor and respect for its furred, feathered, and four- (more or less) legged cast.
by Marilyn Singer ; illustrated by Ryan McAmis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019
“Along with children, First Ladies, and presidents, / the executive mansion had notable residents.”
The veteran versifier offers new stanzas on select animals who occupied the White House (often only briefly) or were at least associated with the chief executives. Readers are likely to be impressed by the sheer variety—not just horses, cats, and dogs in abundance, but a mockingbird that Thomas Jefferson “bought from a slave for five shillings,” John Quincy Adams’ alligator and his wife’s silkworms, Benjamin Harrison’s possums, Teddy Roosevelt’s wild menagerie, and more. Singer writes in casual but controlled metrics that lend each poem a fresh, individual character. She also broadens her general theme both by frequently commenting on the experiences or characters of the animals’ presidential owners (“In the White House, / a mouse is not a welcome resident. / Occasionally, neither / is the sitting president”) and adding observations at the end that will resonate with pet owners far from the nation’s capital and several years away from voting age. In lengthy endnotes she adds still more. McAmis uses clipped bits of paper and found materials to create low-relief collages for each poem. Though he depicts Calvin Coolidge’s pair of lion cubs as tigers, the animals and human figures throughout (the latter all white) have homey, domesticated looks.
A popular topic explored with humor and respect for its furred, feathered, and four- (more or less) legged cast. (bibliography) (Picture book/poetry. 6-9)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4847-8999-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
Did you like this book?
More by Marilyn Singer
BOOK REVIEW
by Marilyn Singer ; illustrated by Sonia Sánchez
BOOK REVIEW
by Marilyn Singer ; illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham
BOOK REVIEW
by Marilyn Singer ; illustrated by Leah Nixon
by Chelsea Clinton ; illustrated by Gianna Marino ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2019
An appeal to share concern for 12 familiar but threatened, endangered, or critically endangered animal species.
The subjects of Marino’s intimate, close-up portraits—fairly naturalistically rendered, though most are also smiling, glancing up at viewers through human eyes, and posed at rest with a cute youngling on lap or flank—steal the show. Still, Clinton’s accompanying tally of facts about each one’s habitat and daily routines, to which the title serves as an ongoing refrain, adds refreshingly unsentimental notes: “A single giraffe kick can kill a lion!”; “[S]hivers of whale sharks can sense a drop of blood if it’s in the water nearby, though they eat mainly plankton.” Along with tucking in collective nouns for each animal (some not likely to be found in major, or any, dictionaries: an “embarrassment” of giant pandas?), the author systematically cites geographical range, endangered status, and assumed reasons for that status, such as pollution, poaching, or environmental change. She also explains the specific meaning of “endangered” and some of its causes before closing with a set of doable activities (all uncontroversial aside from the suggestion to support and visit zoos) and a list of international animal days to celebrate.
A winning heads up for younger readers just becoming aware of the wider natural world. (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-51432-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Share your opinion of this book
Did you like this book?
More by Tae Keller
BOOK REVIEW
by Tae Keller & Chelsea Clinton ; illustrated by Alexandra Boiger & Gillian Flint
BOOK REVIEW
by Hillary Rodham Clinton & Chelsea Clinton ; illustrated by Carme Lemniscates
BOOK REVIEW
by Chelsea Clinton ; illustrated by Siobhán Gallagher
by Anne-Sophie Baumann ; illustrated by Éléanore Della Malva ; translated by Wendeline A. Hardenberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 31, 2021
An outsized overview of animal types, senses, and common characteristics liberally endowed with flaps, pull-tabs, and like furbelows.
Della Malva’s realistically drawn animals crowd sturdy leaves large enough to feature life-size (or nearly so) images of the folded wings of a sea gull and a macaw, and Baumann fills the gaps between with meaty descriptive comments. On every page elements that lift, unfold, pop up, or spin aren’t just slapped on, but actively contribute to the presentation. On a “Birth and Growing” spread, for instance, each of six eggs from ostrich to platypus is a flap with an embryo beneath; a spinner presents a slideshow of a swallowtail’s life cycle from egg to adult; and no fewer than three attached booklets expand on the general topic using other species. Subsequent spreads cover animal sight, hearing, body coverings, grasping and touch, locomotion, and—centering on a startling gander down the pop-up maw of a wolf—eating. The animals and relevant body parts are all clearly labeled, and the text is pitched to serve equally well both casual browsers (“Even fish pee!”) and young zoologists seriously interested in the difference between “scales” and “scutes” or curious about the range of insect-mouth shapes.
Big and likely to draw a large audience both for its subject and the plethora of interactive doodads. (Informational novelty. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68464-281-6
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Twirl/Chronicle
Review Posted Online: Sept. 29, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
Share your opinion of this book
Did you like this book?
More by Anne-Sophie Baumann
BOOK REVIEW
by Anne-Sophie Baumann ; illustrated by Hélène Convert ; translated by Wendeline A. Hardenberg
BOOK REVIEW
by Anne-Sophie Baumann & Pierrick Graviou ; illustrated by Didier Balicevic
BOOK REVIEW
by Anne-Sophie Baumann ; illustrated by Deborah Pinto
© Copyright 2022 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.