Bouncy verse and clever illustrations help teach kids colors...an ideal mix.
"Rainbow Shoes" is actually the title of the first poem in this collection of 14, each dealing with clothing and color: "Got a case / of deep down blues? / Slip on a pair / of rainbow shoes!" The funny closer, "What If," also uses a spectrum of colors: "What if you woke up covered in spots— / bright candy-coloured polka dots." Pops of color appear not only in the predominantly black-and-white ink illustrations, but also sprinkled through the text; names of colors are printed appropriately. The 12 interior poems focus on a single color to great effect. "Orange Socks" plays on the idea of the citrus fruit as well as the color and features a little boy staring at orange socks tumbling in a dryer. "What Do Pirates Wear at Night?" offers this answer: "pink pajamas!" "Please..." deals with a specific gift request: "Knit for me with care and love / one ghastly green and gruesome glove." "Purple Pants Poem" has a French twist; the girl wearing them sports a jaunty beret and stands near the Eiffel Tower. "The Top Thing in Toppers" features a brown cowboy hat that is really a tasty frosted cake. There are also punny poems about Dad's old white shirt, dingy underwear and a coat...of paint.
Stone and Czernecki's text and illustrations are in perfect harmony. Consistently surprising and equally delightful. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-896580-85-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tradewind Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2013
Categories: CHILDREN'S POETRY
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The artwork is the star of this poetic tribute to trees.
Lush paintings, dense with color, texture, and light, illustrate a simple poem extolling trees. Each spread illuminates a short verse centering on a single idea, such as, “Trees love sky” (a single maple rises into the sky); “Trees love clouds” (viewers look directly up through a redwood canopy to clouds above); “Some trees bloom” (butterflies alight on apple blossoms); or “Some trees are old” (a gnarled bristlecone pine stands sentinel on a ledge). Bozic uses acrylic paints directly on wooden panels, and the wood grains that show through give each illustration added dimension and texture, especially when the paint is thin or absent entirely. The effect is enchanting, and the intricately detailed illustrations will catch the attention of sophisticated readers. However, the masterful technique serves Johnston’s simple text (suitable for very young children) at face value, missing the opportunity to create a rich dialogue between poem and art. Still, the book is a visual wonder. Each page is independent of the others with no narrative, though the characteristics of trees that are highlighted move gently and logically from the natural world to the human interaction within it. Backmatter includes the names of all the trees depicted as well as a list of conservation organizations and further reading. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Poetry aside, it’s these beautiful paintings that will inspire a love of trees. (author's note, illustrator's note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-7517-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S POETRY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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Rhyming poems introduce children to anthropomorphized trucks of all sorts, as well as the jobs that they do.
Adorable multiethnic children are the drivers of these 16 trucks—from construction equipment to city trucks, rescue vehicles and a semi—easily standing in for readers, a point made very clear on the final spread. Varying rhyme schemes and poem lengths help keep readers’ attention. For the most part, the rhymes and rhythms work, as in this, from “Cement Mixer”: “No time to wait; / he can’t sit still. / He has to beg your pardon. / For if he dawdles on the way, / his slushy load will harden.” Slonim’s trucks each sport an expressive pair of eyes, but the anthropomorphism stops there, at least in the pictures—Vestergaard sometimes takes it too far, as in “Bulldozer”: “He’s not a bully, either, / although he’s big and tough. / He waits his turn, plays well with friends, / and pushes just enough.” A few trucks’ jobs get short shrift, to mixed effect: “Skid-Steer Loader” focuses on how this truck moves without the typical steering wheel, but “Semi” runs with a royalty analogy and fails to truly impart any knowledge. The acrylic-and-charcoal artwork, set against white backgrounds, keeps the focus on the trucks and the jobs they are doing.
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems. (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5078-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 29, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
Categories: CHILDREN'S POETRY | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION
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