A stirring tale about preserving precious marine life.
A girl and her marine biologist mother save a coral reef.
Ayla lives on an island surrounded by “a vast turquoise ribbon—a coral reef.” Not only does Ayla love swimming through the vibrant underwater habitat, but she also appreciates its importance to the surrounding environment. She’s shocked one day to discover that a section of the reef looks pale and colorless—and that vast numbers of fish are leaving the area. Ayla’s mother explains that rising ocean temperatures are responsible for the reef’s condition and for the fish’s mass exodus. All is not lost, though, because Ayla’s mom has an idea. Together, Ayla and her mother gently and carefully harvest healthy, living coral and place it into a tank in their home. There, submerged in water that’s the right temperature, the coral grows. Eventually, Ayla and her mother move the coral back into the ocean, where Ayla lovingly tends to it until it thrives. Will Ayla’s hard work be enough to allow her beloved fish to return? This delightful, informative, child-friendly story, based on the work of marine biologist Chloé Pozas (who’s interviewed in the backmatter), lyrically and cleverly incorporates a slew of fascinating facts. The bright, detailed illustrations, dominated by hues of blue, will captivate young readers, as will the idea that we can all do something to save our planet. Ayla and her mother are brown-skinned.
A stirring tale about preserving precious marine life. (more information on coral reefs and how to protect them, websites) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781664300279
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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