Review by New York Times Review
Grown-ups never quite get that people are different and that you don't have to be like someone to like them. So imagine how preschoolers feel. "Jasper & Joop" is the most recent of Dunrea's pint-size web-footed adventures. Just as some children love splashing in puddles while others couldn't fathom anything less appealing, two goslings, Jasper (the tidy one) and Joop (messy), frolic in different ways but with mutual appreciation. When a swarm of bees poses a threat to their day's merriment, they flee together. Even very different friends stick together in times of need. BUSY-BUSY LITTLE CHICK By Janice N. Harrington. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney. 32 pp. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. $15.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) Based on a Central African fable, "The Hen's House," this story has strong roots in the oral tradition. "Chilly-cold" chicks complain with little peo-peo-peos, and Mama N soso steps with a cwa-cwa-cwa and clucks prucfe.' pruck! Every night Mama tells her chicks they'll build an ilombe, a new house, the next day. But while she gets distracted by tasty worms and crickets (Mama is the first little pig), Busy-Busy Chick works. Pinkney's animated chickens, scurrying and fluttering in great swaths of marigold and orange, impart abundant joy. BLUEBIRD Written and illustrated by Bob Staake. 40 pp. Schwartz & Wade. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) Few picture books capture the somber hues of loneliness and introspection as stunningly as Staake does in this aptly wordless tale of a boy and a bird. Staake, a New Yorker cartoonist and creator of "The Red Lemon," a New York Times Best Illustrated Book, has drawn a book of true beauty. A young boy is bullied, and while the teacher is oblivious, a bluebird sees all. He sings a merry tune. He plays fly-and-seek. He befriends the boy, then he finds the boy new friends. All this plays out in a New York City landscape of melancholy grays and sky blue, and an unexpected, but welcome, flutter of violet. A rainbow of colors descends in the final pages for an enchanted, bittersweet ending. LUCKY DUCKLINGS By Eva Moore. Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. 32 pp. Orchard Books. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 5 to 7) "Lucky Ducklings" is one of those childhood staples, a happy duck family tale. This deserving heir to Robert McCloskey, updated in a golden wash of watercolor and with a true rescue story as inspiration, stars Mama Duck, Pippin, Bippin, Tippin, Dippin "and last of all . . . Little Joe." One day, the family heads out of the park and into town for a walk when one by one, the babies fall through the cracks of a storm drain. Help! Luckily, firefighters don't just rescue cats in trees. An unabashedly adorable caper, this crowd-pleaser already feels like a classic. ODD DUCK By Cecil Castellucci. Illustrated by Sara Varon. 96 pp. First Second Books. $15.99. (Graphic novel; ages 6 to 10) What makes for a good old ordinary duck? Is it eating "everyday duck pellets"? Checking out "A History of Good Ducks" from the library? Theodora thinks so, and she is set in her ways. Then a new duck moves in next door. Chad has "all kinds of gadgets and sculptures that were both modern and strange." He has mismatched feathers - askew. He scratches these feathers with a fork. He and Theodora will not be friends. Or will they? Castellucci's story about accepting differences brims with appealingly quirky touches, and Varon's panels are funny and fresh in this all-too-rare and very fine example of the early-reader graphic novel. PAMELA PAUL ONLINE A slide show of this week's illustrated books at nytimes.com/books.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [April 14, 2013]
Review by Booklist Review
Jasper, a little white gosling, is exceedingly tidy. Joop, a little gray gosling, is decidedly not. While Joop splashes into puddles, Jasper walks around them. When Joop leaps into mud, Jasper shakes his head. Still, after Joop sticks his head into a beehive, they both have the same reaction: RUN! As in the other small, square picture books from the Gossie & Friends series, the text is distilled to its essence, and the drama unfolds visually against clean, white backgrounds. Precise ink drawings delineate the characters and minimally defined settings, while gouache paints brighten every scene. A fine series addition.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Straitlaced Jasper and free-spirited Joop are an unlikely pair of goslings. Jasper likes his nest tidy and the barnyard dry, while Joop's nest is perpetually mussed, and he leaps gleefully into "MUDDY mud!" When Joop's enthusiasm for shenanigans lands him beak-deep in a beehive, Jasper's the one to honk emphatically: "RUN!" Both goslings discover that they do not like bees and end up in the pond with a satisfying splash. Dunrea's expressive vignettes capture the innocence and adventure of toddlerhood and imbue the tilt of a beak or the curve of a feather with humor and personality. These newest additions to his gaggle of goslings are sure to wiggle their way into the hearts of well-mannered and mischievous youngsters everywhere.-Jenna Boles, Washington-Centerville Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Tidy Jasper and messy Joop are best friends despite their differences. Joop revels in puddles, mud, and dirty straw, while Jasper neatly avoids them. But to save Joop from some bees, Jasper leads him through grass, mud, and into the pond--and finds himself having fun. Both art and text are full of insouciant charm in this fine addition to the Goslings series (Gossie; Gideon; etc.). (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Meet a Felix and Oscar of the feathered variety in this pitch-perfect tale of friends as different as different can be. Roommates (or, rather, coopmates) Jasper and Joop could not be more unalike. Where Jasper is meticulous and tidy, Joop is carefree and messy. Where Jasper murmurs a disapproving "Muddy mud" or "Dusty straw," Joop will honk a thrilled "MUDDY mud!" or "DUSTY straw!" But when Joop goes sticking his beak into a beehive, it's Jasper who has the presence of mind to suggest that they run. Fortunately, even as they escape, Joop is able to show his best friend that sometimes getting dirty and wet can be a lot of fun. Few will be able to resist Jasper in his striped hat and matching tie, though scruffy-feathered Joop is the one kids will identify with the most readily. In Joop, the sheer joy of existence flows readily from the page. His is a life of exploiting pleasure in the here and now. Opposites may attract, but it's clear that Joop's carefree embrace of all things mucky will win the day (and the hearts of Joop-like readers everywhere) in this addition to Dunrea's diminutive gosling series. A winning tale of opposites attracting in spite of the odds. (Picture book. 4-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
