Time zones are not always easy to understand.
This book starts out in San Francisco, California, at 6 a.m. with a yawning city dweller looking out on a cable car. Each page uses the same format with the time spelled out on the top (“It’s seven o’clock in the morning”) and the phrase “And somewhere in the world…” at the bottom. In between, there is a descriptive sentence usually identifying a city and country (or state in the U.S.) for each zone, traveling eastward. A full-bleed painting, often featuring comical animals as well as humans and sights, illustrates each page. (For most locales, residents are depicted, but occasionally only white visitors are seen, as at the Taj Mahal and South Pole Station). There is a timepiece in each picture to look for. Occasionally there are grown-up jokes. “A girl from Ipanema goes walking on a beach” in Rio. Visual jokes for younger readers also appear. At noon, one penguin in the South Sandwich Islands in the southern Atlantic poses for another drawing a picture. Famous tourist sites are often the focus. Eventually, the scene returns to San Francisco, but not before a moose nonchalantly walks through the streets of Anchorage, Alaska, at 5 a.m. There are two pages of explanatory material, including instructions for making a sundial. Unfortunately, there is no world map delineating the zones.
Straightforward—with a little bit of fun . (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-58536-976-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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BOOK REVIEW
Piggie is “one lucky pig,” and she’s determined to make sure she thanks “everyone who is important to” her in this, the final Elephant & Piggie book.
Gerald is sure his friend will forget someone—“someone important”—but Piggie assures him, “It will be a THANK-O-RAMA!” Piggie proceeds to thank the Squirrels for their great ideas, Snake for playing ball, and the Pigeon “for never giving up.” Piggie thanks and thanks: “I am a thanking machine!” She thanks character after character, even the Flies (“Any time, dude!”), as Gerald continues to interject that she’ll forget “someone VERY important.” Finally Piggie runs out of thanks, and by this time Gerald is steamed. “I goofed,” Piggie says in itty-bitty type, before lavishing thanks on Gerald. But that’s not whom Piggie forgot to thank! A classic Willems tantrum later, Gerald reveals the “someone important”: “Our reader.” Of course. “We could not be ‘us’ without you,” says Gerald, earnestly looking out from the page, and Piggie chimes in, “You are the best!” As Elephant & Piggie books go, this isn’t one of the strongest, but it is a validating valediction to fans of the two characters, who have won Willems two Geisel Medals and five Honors. Yes, Gerald and Piggie have ushered countless readers into literacy, but as they rightly note, reading is a collaborative act.
Thank you, Gerald and Piggie. We’ll miss you . (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: May 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4231-7828-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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When a girl visits her grandmother, a writer and “grand friend,” she is seeking something special to share at show and tell on the first day of school.
Before Brook can explain, Mimi expresses concern that certain words describing the natural world will disappear if someone doesn’t care for and use them. (An author’s note explains the author’s motivation: She had read of the removal of 100 words about outdoor phenomena from the Oxford Junior Dictionary.) The duo sets out to search for and experience the 19 words on Mimi’s list, from “acorn” and “buttercup” to “violet” and “willow.” Kloepper’s soft illustrations feature green and brown earth tones that frame the white, matte pages; bursts of red, purple, and other spot colors enliven the scenes. Both Mimi and Brook are depicted as white. The expedition is described in vivid language, organized as free verse in single sentences or short paragraphs. Key words are printed in color in a larger display type and capital letters. Sensory details allow the protagonist to hear, see, smell, taste, and hold the wild: “ ‘Quick! Make a wish!’ said Mimi, / holding out a DANDELION, / fairy dust sitting on a stem. / ‘Blow on it and the seeds will fly. / Your tiny wishes in the air.’ ” It’s a day of wonder, with a touch of danger and a solution to Brook’s quest. The last page forms an envelope for readers’ own vocabulary collections.
Sweet—and savory. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7073-2
Page Count: 62
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
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