Not quite just right but sure to please Brett’s fans.
More “The Three Bears” than “The Little Mermaid,” Brett’s latest picture book was inspired by her visits to Okinawa and the New England Aquarium, where she encountered the Pacific octopus.
The titular mermaid is named Kiniro, and her Japanese-inspired name, dark rather than golden tresses, and East Asian features are links to Brett’s Japanese inspiration for the story. Various illustrative details of the setting and characters’ costuming also seem tied to Japan, but the text is firmly rooted in the very English “The Three Bears.” While swimming with her friend Puffy (a puffer fish), Kiniro happens upon the house of an octopus family. In keeping with the folk-tale source material, Otosan (the father), Okasan (the mother), and Baby, an octopus family, have all gone out, leaving Kiniro to try their breakfast, their chairs, and their beds. In each instance she prefers Baby’s things, and she drifts off to sleep in a clamshell bed. Throughout, Brett’s signature sidebar illustrations show the octopus family on their outing, each wearing a hat. (A subplot about the octopuses’ hats detracts from the story with superfluous detail.) When they return, they are upset by Kiniro’s intrusion, but Puffy protects her, and they escape with a new friend in tow—a stingray who had been Baby’s hat and which Kiniro replaces with a tiara.
Not quite just right but sure to please Brett’s fans. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-17072-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Children who love dogs will find this amusing the first time through, but the humor palls quickly.
In rhyming text, a bug-eyed pug named Pig stubbornly refuses to share with the almost equally bug-eyed Trevor, the “wiener dog” he lives with—and soon gets his comeuppance.
The book begins showing the eponymous dog astride a large, red bowl of dog food, tongue hanging out and all four paws gripping the bowl. It perfectly matches the text: “Pig was a Pug / and I’m sorry to say, / he was greedy and selfish / in most every way.” A bit of humor comes through when the text plays on the adage about pigs by reminding readers that “pugs cannot fly.” However, most of the text is composed of trite, tired rhymes. The ending is a punch line whose funny picture will have little ones giggling. However, the ultimate “lesson” is a rather dark cynicism, more appropriate to children older than the age suggested by the rhymes, the art, and even the publisher. There may be some vicarious thrills for those who have witnessed excessive selfishness. The artwork is humorous, although Pig’s appearance is sometimes more grotesque than funny—particularly when he shouts at Trevor. Both male dogs’ facial expressions and body language add to the humor, and dog lovers will appreciate Pig’s array of colorful toys. Scansion is spotty, which should not happen in verses so dependent on rhythm and rhyme to entertain their young audience.
Children who love dogs will find this amusing the first time through, but the humor palls quickly. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Dec. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-338-11245-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A funny tale about stress and an ever upping ante, with a comforting end.
Something is preventing Owl from falling asleep.
Owl leans back against his white pillow and headboard. “Squeek!” says something underneath the bed. Owl’s never heard that sound before, so he fastens his pink bathrobe and answers the front door. Nobody. It must be the wind; back to bed. Bidding himself goodnight, he climbs into bed—and hears the noise again. Time after time, he pops out of bed seeking the squeaker. Is it in the cupboard? He empties the shelves. Under the floor? He pulls up his floorboards. As Owl’s actions ratchet up—he destroys the roof and smashes the walls, all in search of the squeak—so does his anxiety. Not until he hunkers down in bed under the night sky (his bed is now outdoors, because the house’s roof and walls are gone), frantically clutching his pillow, does he see what readers have seen all along: a small, gray mouse. In simple illustrations with black outlines, textured coloring, and foreshortened perspective, Pizzoli plays mischievously with mouse placement. Sometimes the mouse is behind Owl or just out of his sightline; other times, the mouse is on a solid, orange-colored page across the spread from Owl, which removes him from Owl’s scene in a rather postmodern manner. Is the mouse toying with Owl? Who knows?
A funny tale about stress and an ever upping ante, with a comforting end. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-1275-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
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