This little bear should have stayed at home.
The little polar bear’s newest adventure in this Swiss series takes him on a journey to China.
When Lars the polar bear curiously follows a group of tourists to the Arctic he becomes an accidental cruise-ship stowaway. Even though his new mouse friends on the ship are fun, the cub can’t wait to get home. Smuggled off the ship at the first port, Lars finds himself in a vast bamboo forest. There, he encounters Ying and Yong, twin pandas, who help him scale the Great Wall of China, the first step on his trip north. On the other side, a friendly otter named Oleg smuggles him onto an Arctic-bound mail plane. A joyful reunion with his relieved parents draws the adventure to a close. Following the formula established by previous Little Polar Bear titles, there’s minimal new ground covered in Lars’ newest adventure. While the journey is one of many miles, the story lacks urgency. Even Lars, a smile almost always upon his face, seems to know that nothing bad could ever come his way. Supporting characters are merely cardboard figures meant to convey Lars from one plot point to the next. Unfortunately, the depiction of the panda cubs begins with their cringeworthy names and continues with a description of them as nearly identical, a common Asian stereotype. Most alarmingly, Lars shows his parents what a panda looks like by smearing dirt on his father while his mother simpers, “Now black and white will be all the rage in the Arctic!” The parallels to blackface and the idea of race as fashionable are surpassingly distressing. Readers itching for an animal travelogue should opt instead for Longy Han and Elinor Hägg’s more authentic treatment, Gusto & Gecko Travel to China (2018). (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.15-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 63% of actual size.)
This little bear should have stayed at home. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4428-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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