A mildly amusing outing for an odd though engaging canine character.
An extremely long “sausage dog” causes problems with his far-distant rear end until his friends provide a creative solution.
The dog, Bartelby, is presumably a wire-haired dachshund, although his ultra-long size puts him in the category of imaginary pets. He lives (seemingly independently) in a well-stocked bookstore, where he enjoys reading his favorite books “whilst eating breakfast” and having visits with three children who are his special friends. One is white with blonde braids, another is white with curly, red hair and glasses, and the third friend has brown skin and straight, dark hair. Bartelby is so long that he doesn’t know what his own rear end is doing when he goes out on walks, causing issues such as tripping people or tracking his back feet through wet cement. His friends read books at the bookstore to discover a way to help him, coming up with a bright yellow sweater for Bartelby’s back end with a light and warning sign. Soft-focus, colored-pencil illustrations have a whimsical appeal, with amusing expressions for Bartelby and a multiethnic cast of characters. The dog’s enormous length makes some of the illustrations hard to understand, and it’s difficult to grasp how Bartelby could walk with his extra-long body, powered only by four tiny feet.
A mildly amusing outing for an odd though engaging canine character. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-5445-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017
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
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Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees.
After Duncan finds his crayons gone—yet again—letters arrive, detailing their adventures in friendship.
Eleven crayons send missives from their chosen spots throughout Duncan’s home (and one from his classroom). Red enjoys the thrill of extinguishing “pretend fires” with Duncan’s toy firetruck. White, so often dismissed as invisible, finds a new calling subbing in for the missing queen on the black-and-white chessboard. “Now everyone ALWAYS SEES ME!…(Well, half the time!)” Pink’s living the dream as a pastry chef helming the Breezy Bake Oven, “baking everything from little cupcakes…to…OTHER little cupcakes!” Teal, who’s hitched a ride to school in Duncan’s backpack, meets the crayons in the boy’s desk and writes, “Guess what? I HAVE A TWIN! How come you never told me?” Duncan wants to see his crayons and “meet their new friends.” A culminating dinner party assembles the crayons and their many guests: a table tennis ball, dog biscuits, a well-loved teddy bear, and more. The premise—personified crayons, away and back again—is well-trammeled territory by now, after over a dozen books and spinoffs, and Jeffers once more delivers his signature cartooning and hand-lettering. Though the pages lack the laugh-out-loud sight gags and side-splittingly funny asides of previous outings, readers—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals.
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622360
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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