A creative and unique way to explore poetry and emotions with young children.
A children’s book of poems about feelings.
Austin explores emotions through animals in this picture book of poetry for young readers, pairing each feeling with an animal that embodies its essence. Readers meet the Butterfly of Joy as she “lands on the cosmos / flower, for just / a moment / spreading her wings.” The Mosquito of Worry brings “so many fears / I can’t slap away,” while the Goldfish of Boredom “bumps against his bowl / starved for something different.” An Octopus of Curiosity sifts through jewels in a sunken treasure box, “navigating through mazes, remembering solutions, and filling / gaps in knowledge until she knows a lot.” A dog with its tail between its legs is associated with disappointment, while an industrious spider feels satisfaction upon completing her web. Watch out for the Fox of Jealousy, who “stalks and creeps / unbidden / unwanted”; the Wolf of Fear, who “prowls for his prey, / lands in a single leap / in the shadows in your room”; and the Maggot of Disgust that “squirms in its vile pile.” Austin’s poems are short but insightful. Her language is lively and engaging; she describes a trumpet swan that “glides on glassy darkness” and a snail that leaves behind a trail “maybe / of jitters / maybe / of joy.” Some of the animal-emotion pairs are less surprising, like the Turtle of Loneliness, the Bull of Anger, and the Peacock of Pride. Baratta’s illustrations are intricately crafted—her animals look lifelike and soft enough to cuddle. Each painting uses a bold, often primary color scheme in a setting that connects the animal to its corresponding poem. The illustrator also alternates between full-page images and smaller ones that make good use of white space. The poetry text, which perhaps should have been larger in size for easier reading, switches between black and white, depending on the background color.
A creative and unique way to explore poetry and emotions with young children.Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2023
ISBN: 9798987478035
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Susan Schadt Press
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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