by Marsha Wilson Chall & illustrated by Jed Henry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 22, 2011
Sam is a thoughtful, dark-haired boy who is ready to adopt a dog. But how will he decide which one to choose? Grandma says he’ll just know, but Sam isn’t so sure. Warm digital-and-watercolor artwork shows the multitude of neighborhood canines that Grandma and Sam encounter on the way to the shelter, and the sprightly, rhyming text captures each one in pithy, hyphenated phrases. For example, there’s a “sit-in-your-lap dog,” a “runs-right-up pup” and a “woolly-like-a-sheep dog.” Each one has its own particularities, which confounds Sam further. When Grandma and Sam arrive at shelter, there are many lovable dogs awaiting new owners, and Sam wants to adopt them all. There is a special puppy waiting for just for him though, once he realizes who really does the picking. Terrific for sharing, with bouncing and memorable phrasing and appealing, energetic illustrations, this sweet and satisfying tale showcases the charm and special qualities of dogs as well as the tenderness of a grandparent-grandchild relationship. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4169-7961-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 30, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2011
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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by Marsha Wilson Chall ; illustrated by Alison Friend
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by Marsha Wilson Chall & illustrated by Heather Solomon
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by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010
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. 29, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley
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by Doug MacLeod ; illustrated by Craig Smith
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by Adam Osterweil and illustrated by Craig Smith
by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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