A tangle of arms and legs and many smiling faces pressed in close—this is a cultural ride worth taking.
A young boy comes up with a creative solution when an African minibus can’t make it up the hill.
The bus is off to the market, and Keb is the first inside. But there are many more stops, and soon, everyone is squeezing in, carrying fruit, vegetables, baskets and even a few goats! Dale’s jaunty text follows the rhythm of the bus over the bumps and turns: “Some climb on the roof, and more squash inside, / If only the bus had been made twice as wide!” Packed to the brim, the bus comes to a hill and can’t go any farther. Someone has to get off! The passengers start squabbling. Little Keb volunteers, but since he’s in the back, everyone else has to get off too. The bus makes it up the hill, and everyone gets to the market on time. The setting is never specifically mentioned, but the dusty landscape dotted with zebras and giraffes, along with Pal’s brightly saturated Pan-African–colored bus, gives a hint. It’s a lively trip and an equally lively text, but it’s too bad there’s no note on matatu minibuses beyond a reference in the author bio on the jacket flap. Adults may be charged with adding a bit more context.
A tangle of arms and legs and many smiling faces pressed in close—this is a cultural ride worth taking. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-84780-338-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2013
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
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.
A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.
Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)
Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-72822-355-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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