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32 pp.
| Charlesbridge
| May, 2017
|
TradeISBN 978-1-58089-715-0$14.99
|
EbookISBN 978-1-60734-929-7
(2)
PS
Little Pig's (Little Pig Joins the Band) older siblings are going to sailing camp; he reluctantly stays behind, learning to tie knots. His grandfathers bring him a toy boat, which keeps him entertained all week. Friendly watercolors capture the hustle-and-bustle of a large family, Little Pig's initial loneliness, and summer days spent knee-deep in a (beautifully evoked) pooled-up stream. A profusion of speech bubbles adds drama, immediacy, and humor.
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
John Martz.
Straight man Abbott is a tall brown bear and befuddled Costello is a short white bunny in this picture-book adaptation of the 1930s comedy routine. Martz alters the text very little and includes speech balloons, panels, and changing perspectives to maintain the story's pace and add clarity for young readers discovering this famous baseball comedy sketch for the first time.
32 pp.
| Charlesbridge
| July, 2011
|
TradeISBN 978-1-58089-264-3$14.95
(2)
PS
Little Pig, too small to play an instrument, watches his siblings have all the fun with Grandpa's marching band equipment. However, physical stature doesn't stop him from thinking big. Sprightly ink and watercolor illustrations match the upbeat text's tempo and include comic asides to help advance the narrative. Readers will likely recognize Little Pig's predicament and give his take-charge solution a hand.
Reviewer: Kitty Flynn
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2011
32 pp.
| Farrar
| February, 2010
|
TradeISBN 978-0-374-33526-7$12.99
(2)
PS
A little yellow duckling wanders off: "Uh-oh. I'm lost." No worries; Monkey is nearby: "I can help." This small drama sets up a comforting pattern as successive animal friends assist one another. The concept of helping is right on target for the always-eager-to-lend-a-hand audience. Costello's animated art tells a lot of the story, and there's enough tension to keep things lively.
Reviewer: Kitty Flynn
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2010
32 pp.
| Farrar
| October, 2004
|
TradeISBN 0-374-33051-4$$15.00
(4)
K-3
An inventive array of mildly eccentric monsters enjoy a Halloween feast while awaiting the arrival of "the scariest creatures of all." The rhyming text goes on too long and the twist is predictable (the scariest creatures are trick-or-treating children), but the line-and-watercolor paintings display a fresh sensibility and an evocatively autumnal tone.
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Wes Siegrist.
In unsentimental prose this book follows two one-year-old Florida panther kittens as they roam their territory and hunt on their own for the first time. The book's strengths are its immediacy and snapshot detailing of the sights and sounds of the habitat; less successful are the stiff watercolor illustrations. A double-foldout spread cataloging the plants, insects, and animals that share the cypress forest is appended.