Read the book for its gleeful energy, but have one with antipodean animal descriptions on hand to answer questions.
There are so many things these colorful birds can do. Can you?
Each two-page spread is a riot of color, depicting several iterations of Toucan in motion as well as various other fauna and flora that he encounters and engages in mischief with. A score of little birds in rainbow colors watches him dance and sing and bang a frying pan. Toucan also slides and swings and does the cancan (on a stack of cans). He also skips and trips and flips and flops. When an excited kangaroo shows up, with an even more excited joey in her pouch, Toucan is challenged to imitate kangaroo’s kung fu moves. Other wackily drawn creatures appear to dance and party with Toucan. There’s Ewan, an unidentified big-eyed burnt-orange animal with a striped tail who might be a kinkajou, and his imperious aunts Shanti and Tanya. There’s a panda, salamander, goose and gander, and also a panther...or two. The pages are positively crowded with creatures who all dance in a vivid tangle with Toucan. And who else can dance with Toucan? You can. MacIver’s simple text has lots of bounce and phonic crunch. Davis’ illustrations, besides being colorful, effectively communicate motion and fun. American audiences may miss descriptions of the exotic animals depicted; this New Zealand import has no backmatter.
Read the book for its gleeful energy, but have one with antipodean animal descriptions on hand to answer questions. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-8774-6753-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Gecko Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The action of this rhymed and humorous tale centers upon a mouse who "took a stroll/through the deep dark wood./A fox saw the mouse/and the mouse looked good." The mouse escapes being eaten by telling the fox that he is on his way to meet his friend the gruffalo (a monster of his imagination), whose favorite food is roasted fox. The fox beats a hasty retreat. Similar escapes are in store for an owl and a snake; both hightail it when they learn the particulars: tusks, claws, terrible jaws, eyes orange, tongue black, purple prickles on its back. When the gruffalo suddenly materializes out of the mouse's head and into the forest, the mouse has to think quick, declaring himself inedible as the "scariest creature in the deep dark wood," and inviting the gruffalo to follow him to witness the effect he has on the other creatures. When the gruffalo hears that the mouse's favorite food is gruffalo crumble, he runs away. It's a fairly innocuous tale, with twists that aren't sharp enough and treachery that has no punch. Scheffler's funny scenes prevent the suspense from culminating; all his creatures, predator and prey, are downright lovable. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: June 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8037-2386-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1999
SEEN & HEARD
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