Even if the philosophy doesn’t land, the playful illustrations will still appeal to readers.
In this tale translated from German, a child raises a profound question.
At bedtime, Ludwig strikes up a conversation with a rhinoceros. Hearing the chatter, Ludwig’s caregiver enters the bedroom and, not seeing the animal, tries to convince Ludwig that there can’t possibly be a rhinoceros here. The caregiver searches the room, never seeing the rhinoceros. Readers share Ludwig’s perspective and spot the elusive creature on every page. Ludwig argues that it’s not possible to prove the rhino isn’t here—after all, the moon is in the sky even though they can’t see it. The backmatter notes that this concept is a play on philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein’s question of how to prove something isn’t there, which is much harder than proving something is. The philosophical theory might go over some young readers’ heads but could still be thought-provoking. The illustrations rely on just three colors—bright blue, yellow, and red (which blend into other colors when printed on top of one another)—while still giving dimension to shadows and details like wood grain on the dresser. Giving little ones—Ludwig and readers—the power of owning the book’s perspective is an interesting flip of traditional adult-child dynamics. Here, the child holds the knowledge that the adult struggles to understand. Ludwig and the caregiver have yellow skin. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Even if the philosophy doesn’t land, the playful illustrations will still appeal to readers. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780735845275
Page Count: 40
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too many bugs, figuratively.
Lucy, “the youngest member of a family of fireflies,” must overcome an irrational, moon-induced anxiety in order to leave her family tree trunk and glow.
The first six pages pull readers into a lush, beautiful world of nighttime: “When the sun has set, silence falls over the Big Forest, and all of the nighttime animals wake up.” Mixed media provide an enchanting forest background, with stylized flora and fauna eventually illuminated by a large, benign moon, because the night “doesn’t like to catch them by surprise.” Turning the page catches readers by surprise, though: the family of fireflies is decidedly comical and silly-looking. Similarly, the text moves from a lulling, magical cadence to a distinct shift in mood as the bugs ready themselves for their foray into the night: “They wave their bottoms in the air, wiggle their feelers, take a deep, deep breath, and sing, ‘Here we go, it’s time to glow!’ ” It’s an acceptable change, but more unevenness follows. Lucy’s excitement about finally joining the other bugs turns to “sobbing” two nights in a row. Instead of directly linking her behavior to understandable reactions of children to newness, the text undermines itself by making Lucy’s parents’ sweet reassurances impotent and using the grandmother’s scientific explanation of moonlight as an unnecessary metaphor. Further detracting from the story, the text becomes ever denser and more complex over the book’s short span.
Too many bugs, figuratively. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-84-16147-00-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cuento de Luz
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
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