Billy’s experience may encourage young children who share his attitude toward new adventures to screw their courage to the...
A shy lad and his horned, adventurous best buddy take in the state fair. The lights! The rides! The corn dogs!
Though Billy prefers reading about adventures rather than having them, as his caprine friend does, news of a best-goat competition prompts him to buff up his buddy and tackle the big, bright, noisy state fair. Goat promptly chews his way loose—and from there, it’s on to the log plunge and the tractor pull, a yodeling contest, corn dogs and floral displays (goat happily chows down on both), and even a ride on a float. Yaccarino portrays it all in flat, brightly colored scenes featuring a young farmer in overalls who goes from anxious to exuberant as he catches up with his eager companion and gets into the swing of things. In the end they miss the livestock competition, but before riding away in the back of a pickup beneath a sky filled with fireworks, they do come in “third (and fourth)” in the pie-eating contest. No matter: “Billy already knew who the best goat really was.” As in Donald Crews’ Night at the Fair (1998) (and unlike Ted Lewin’s more frenetic Fair!, 1997), the crowds and carnival atmosphere come off as inviting rather than overwhelming.
Billy’s experience may encourage young children who share his attitude toward new adventures to screw their courage to the sticking place. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: June 30, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-75325-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.
The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.
Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780063329560
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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