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Bynum, Janie
5 Reviews
(3)
PS
Kiki's blankie fuels her imagination and provides security. When wind carries it toward a crocodile, her spirit falters, but the thought of losing her blankie forever gives Kiki the resolve to retrieve it. Children will identify with the simple story line about attachment to a favorite object. Digital and watercolor illustrations with lots of white space let the monkey heroine (and blankie) take center stage.
Reviewer: Sethany Rancier Alongi
(3)
K-3
Willy the guinea pig hopes to find his niche by joining the Pig Scouts, but the other scouts tease him because he's not really a pig. On a hike, when he and another scout fall into a deep hole, Willy (not too surprisingly) uses special guinea pig skills, such as digging, to help them escape. Expressive watercolors and lively writing make it easy to root for Willy.
Reviewer: Martha Sibert
(4)
PS
Altoona and her friends head north to visit her aunt in "north Saskatoon-a." But after too much fun in the snow, Auntie decides to surreptitiously guide the trip south, and before they know it, they're back in sunny Laguna Beach. Although the verse is sometimes forced, Auntie's sly surprise will tickle funny bones, as will the vibrant cartoon illustrations rendered in "digital pen-and-ink and watercolor."
Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli
(2)
PS
This story features a fastidious little pig whose dislike of mud marks him as different. Otis remains true to himself despite his loneliness and eventually finds a friend in an equally dirt-averse frog. The cartoonlike pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations show a comfortable family enjoying all the pastoral pleasures of pig life. This simple story about self-acceptance is nicely embellished with repetition and humor.
Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2000
(4)
PS
Bored and lonely on her tropical island, Altoona Baboona takes off in a hot-air balloon-a, flying south to Cancun-a, then east to Rangoon-a. In this forced rhyme, Altoona finds a loon-a and a raccoon-a who go home to live with her. Illustrations done in digital pen and ink and watercolor have sketchy outlines and eye-catching colors appropriate to this active, silly adventure.
Reviewer: Suzy Schmidt
5 reviews
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