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Church, Caroline Jayne
6 Reviews
(4)
K-3
Text by Gillian Shields. Dog Ruff stays busy cleaning, weeding, planting flowers, and so forth. When his home beautification efforts inadvertently trash mouse Hubble's house, guilt-ridden Ruff plugs away rebuilding. He discovers that working with a friend is more fun than toiling alone (and having roommates is pretty great, too). The story meanders, but Ruff's benevolent nature is in full bloom in the welcoming illustrations.
Reviewer: Cindy Lombardo
(4)
PS
Mouse Madison forestalls bedtime by repeatedly asking Mommy for "just one more thing." The story doesn't distinguish itself from the multitude of like-themed picture book offerings, but the art, which places human-child motifs (Madison picks up her toys, brushes her teeth) within the context of an animal habitat (her bed is a hollowed-out log, her wardrobe a tree branch), invites contemplation.
Reviewer: Nell Beram
(4)
PS
A bouncy, round pig obsessed with flying annoys his hard-working barnyard friends. The animals build him a trampoline to keep him out of the way, but Ping Pong finds other uses for it. His ultimate air travel experiment has a funny but somewhat anticlimactic result. The adorable illustrations are a happy blend of subtle patterns, bright colors, and strong black lines.
Reviewer: Sethany Rancier Alongi
(3)
PS
Little Apple Goat munches on fruit from an orchard, spitting seeds over the hedge, "Plippety plip!" When a windstorm destroys the orchard, a new one grows over time. Textured illustrations and a simple text convey a satisfying story about the cycles of nature. The conclusion engages listeners with a playful question about who planted the new orchard: "You know who, don't you?"
Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty
(3)
PS
Digby, a young sheep dog, has the task of rounding up "six silly sheep" on the farm ("Easy-peasy! thought Digby"). But when the sheep won't budge, Digby must learn how to ask them in just the right way. The straightforward story line and simple text let the large, varied illustrations in bold colors convey much of the humor.
(3)
PS
A gaggle of geese tease a smart but lonely goose about having dirty feathers. After he explains that they help him blend into the shadows, rendering him invisible to the rampaging fox, the geese proceed to muddy themselves--with unanticipated results. The tale is swiftly told, and the cartoony images somehow manage to make the lonely goose almost unbearably sympathetic.
Reviewer: Nell Beram
6 reviews
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