A stylish showcase for the artists, but the lack of connection between pictures and plotlines will limit its interest for...
Three food chains at work—at ground level, in the air, and in the ocean.
In each picture Ladd and Anderson pose a single realistic, somewhat plasticized model in a simplified natural setting made with cut and folded paper. Printed separately on accordion-folded leaves of heavy stock and packaged together in a slipcase, the three sequences can be read through or laid out on display with equal ease. With cumulative narratives running beneath, each follows a similar course. “High in the Sky, Everyone Is Hungry,” for instance, opens with elm leaves that “turn sunshine into food” until becoming food themselves for a woolly apple aphid that in turn falls prey to a ladybug who feeds a swallow and so on for three more levels of predation, up to a great horned owl snapping up a red-tailed hawk (unlikely but at least theoretically possible). Along with brief analyses at the end, silhouettes on the back sides of the pages show other foods in each creature’s diet. Though these do convey a general idea of how food chains work, it’s at best a bland and intellectualized one as, topic and the use of such words as “CHOMP!” and “GULP!” notwithstanding, predators and prey only appear in separate scenes, and there is no actual eating on view.
A stylish showcase for the artists, but the lack of connection between pictures and plotlines will limit its interest for younger audiences. (Informational board book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7148-7144-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Phaidon
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A solid introduction to the ninth month of the year and all the joys it ushers in.
Martin’s latest in a series that personifies the months of the year follows a young girl who exemplifies all things fall.
Tan-skinned, bespectacled September is all about autumn, from the cozy sweater she wears to the red and green leaves tangled in her long hair. She’s thrilled to start school with Ms. Seasons, her new teacher, who gives the class an exciting new assignment: embarking on a fall nature watch and checking off signs of the new season. Friends August and October accompany September as they observe apple trees, a campfire, a scarecrow (and a crow), and, finally, the elusive fall-colored leaf. September, who has a cochlear implant and is of Latine heritage, also tells her classmates—and readers—about other important things going on this month. She gives presentations on Deaf Awareness Month (and goes over the American Sign Language alphabet) and Hispanic Heritage Month (and teaches her classmates the phrase “Hola, amigo”). The book closes with discussion questions, a prompt for readers, and an applesauce recipe. Though light on tension or conflict, the story serves its purpose well: introducing children to the hallmarks of the season. Kids nervous about back-to-school—another marker of September—will feel soothed by the protagonist’s sunny outlook. Martin’s illustrations appear digital and are rife with autumnal elements; September’s design is a particular highlight.
A solid introduction to the ninth month of the year and all the joys it ushers in. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9781464261633
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
Laugh-out-loud fun for all.
Hilarious complications ensue when Nanette’s mom gives her the responsibility of buying the family baguette.
She sets out on her errand and encounters lots of distractions along the way as she meets and greets Georgette, Suzette, Bret with his clarinet, Mr. Barnett and his pet, Antoinette. But she remembers her mission and buys the baguette from Juliette the baker. And oh, it is a wonderful large, warm, aromatic hunk of bread, so Nanette takes a taste and another and more—until there is nothing left. Maybe she needs to take a jet to Tibet. But she faces her mother and finds understanding, tenderness, and a surprise twist. Willems is at his outlandish best with line after line of “ettes” and their absurd rhymes, all the while demonstrating a deep knowledge of children’s thought processes. Nanette and the entire cast of characters are bright green frogs with very large round eyes, heavily outlined in black and clad in eccentric clothing and hats. A highly detailed village constructed of cardboard forms the background for Nanette’s adventures. Her every emotion explodes all over the pages in wildly expressive, colorful vignettes and an eye-popping use of emphatic display type. The endpapers follow the fate of the baguette from fresh and whole to chewed and gone. Demands for encores will surely follow.
Laugh-out-loud fun for all. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-2286-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016
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