Review by New York Times Review
These enchanting tales include a magical wolf, a rampaging bunny and the latest from Sandra Boynton. HERE, GEORGE! By Sandra Boynton. Illustrated by George Booth The iconic cartoonist Booth sketched a nervous, lovable-looking dog as a gift to Boynton. She turned it into one of her famously funny, perfectly calibrated board books, spinning a droll story about a pup who won't get up - or so his owners think. 32 pp. Simon & Schuster. $7.99. Ages 0 to 5. CIRCLE ROLLS By Barbara Kanninen. Illustrated by Serge Bloch. In this delightful sneak-lesson in geometry, physics, and helping your friends when they're in a jam, some colorful shapes have a bang-up time when Circle starts rolling. In Bloch's minimalist, loose-limbed pen-and-ink art, tiny people try valiantly to pitch in, too. 32 pp. Phaidon. $16.95. Ages 3 to 5. BIG BUNNY Written and illustrated by Rowboat Watkins. Watkins ("Rude Cakes") conjures another homey yet mind-bending story in this bedtime tale about an enormous rabbit, regularsized carrots, some trucker penguins and bus-driving giraffes. The infectious fun continues to the ending, which will be - trust me - a giant, hilarious surprise to both parents and kids. 32 pp. Chronicle. $16.99. Ages 3 to 7. A HOUSE THAT ONCE WAS By Julie Fogliano. Illustrated by Lane Smith. Two kids walking in the woods find an abandoned house. Who lived there? What happened? Accompanied by Lane's evocative art that suggests layers of history, Fogliano's story turns this childhood scenario into a radiant poem about the mysteries of other people and the wonderfulness of home. 42 pp. Roaring Brook. $18.99. Ages 3 to 7. FOREVER OR A DAY Written and illustrated by Sarah Jacoby. In Jacoby's elegant debut, time is both a riddle and a poem: "Perhaps it is a ghost/ it can come and go/ and you never even notice it was there," she writes. Her soft illustrations, in lovely sunrise, sunset and moonlight colors, capture both wide-open spaces and the enduring bonds of family love. 40 pp. Chronicle. $17.99. Ages 3 to 7. MOON Written and illustrated by Alison Oliver. Oliver's picture book debut channels "Where the Wild Things Are" for the hovered-over modern child. Moon, a little girl with a big to-do list, wonders, "What would it feel like to be free?" A wolf arrives to whisk her away to a magical forest where she plays, listens, howls - and becomes an independent kid, keeping her "wolty ways," including (gasp) standing on a swing. 40 pp. Clarion. $17.99. Ages 4 to 7. JEROME BY HEART By Thomas Scotto. Illustrated by Olivier Tallec. It's rare to find a book about friendship between boys this heartfelt. His parents scoff at the intensity of it all, but Raphael wants to spend every minute with Jerome - his school-trip buddy, his defender against mean kids, the friend who always makes him laugh. Both the words and the sweet illustrations capture the spirit behind childhood bonds. 32 pp. Enchanted Lion. $16.95. Ages 4 to 8. RED SKY AT NIGHT Written and illustrated by Elly MacKay Each page of this beautifully designed book has an old-fashioned saying about the weather ("When ladybugs swarm, expect a day that's warm"). With Mac Kay's dreamy cut-paper collage art featuring two siblings exploring outdoors, the old-fashioned approach to weather is oddly reassuring. 40 pp. Tundra. $17.99. Ages 4 to 8. RESCUE & JESSICA: A LIFE-CHANGING FRIENDSHIP By Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes. Illustrated by Scott Magoon. Kensky, who lost both legs after the Boston Marathon bombing, despaired until Rescue, a service dog, arrived to help her navigate life with prosthetics. This sensitively told version- written with her husband, who also lost a leg in the bombing - highlights her relationship with the gallant Rescue. 32 pp. Candlewick. $16.99. Ages 5 to 9. THE DRAGON SLAYER: FOLKTALES FROM LATIN AMERICA Written and illustrated by Jaime Hernandez Hernandez, one of the brothers behind the Love and Rockets comic strip, adapts and updates three Latin American folk tales into a graphic-novel format. The buoyant results will delight all ages. A kitchen maid slays a dragon and marries a prince; a vain woman marries a mouse, with bad results; a boy cast out as lazy proves the logic of his approach. There's also fascinating historical material on the origins of each tale. 48 pp. TOON Books. $16.95. Ages 6 to 12. MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor of the Book Review.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [August 30, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
Watkins' reliable absurdity is on display again in this latest picture book, which features a pair of narrators arguing over a scary story. It's centered around Big Bunny, but the narrators can't agree on how big that bunny really is, where he lives, or what he eats. As the story gets wilder (Does Big Bunny EAT the trucks?), the soft, cartoonish illustrations mutate to reflect the change. On the first spread, Big Bunny doesn't even fit on the page; on the next, he dwarfs the sun! When the discussion turns to carrots, Big Bunny can sometimes fit many carrots in one paw, while on another spread, he barely makes a dent in a gigantic carrot many times bigger than he is. The ping-ponging changes in relative size are comical enough on their own, but as the story spirals into even sillier territory, little ones will likely be rolling in the aisles. And for anyone wondering why a big bunny would be so scary, the final pages reveal the hilarious truth (though, no spoilers here).--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this inventive, clever outing, Watkins (Rude Cakes) ponders what¿s scary and how much context matters. We hear¿but don¿t see¿ what seems to be a parent and child bickering over the fright quotient of a bedtime story involving a big bunny¿or, as the child prefers, ¿a ginormously SCARY bunny.¿ The parent tries to pull the story back from the brink by insisting that the rabbit wants to eat carrots and carrots only, but the young reader pushes for something more terrifying. ¿Big Bunny ate ten carrots in one! bite!¿¿ proclaims the parent, trying to drum up drama. ¿Not scary,¿ retorts the child. The parent finally capitulates (¿Fine... you tell it¿), and the bunny becomes a giant omnivore, devouring a bridge, trucks, and an entire cityscape. Who could possibly find such a ravenously monstrous bunny scary? A page turn provides the answer: the parent and child are lettuce. As the story descends into a child¿s version of Grand Guignol, Watkins¿s pictures exude the giddiness of an imagination unleashed. Ages 3¿5. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Apr.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-This bedtime story comes to life comically through dialogue between what readers might assume to be an unseen parent and child. Using two distinct font styles and imaginative illustrations, the exchange begins with an adult voice, "Once upon a time, there was a Big Bunny," while a curious, scary-story-seeking child interjects questions onto the story line. Instead of stifling the child's inquisitiveness, the adult attempts to make the story exciting by describing the bunny eating hundreds of carrots, adding trucks (and truckloads of carrots), bridges, and more-but as the narrative begins to bore the child, the adult proclaims, "Fine.you tell it." In the child's version, Big Bunny quickly begins eating up the story's trucks, the bridge, and buildings, but then, in a near final page turn, readers realizes that the parent and child telling this story are actually heads of lettuce. Watkins's muted illustrations, in watercolor and pencil, are both helpful and playful; they inventively express the creative mayhem of a little lettuce's imagination. VERDICT This clever story within a story will perplex and intrigue young -readers. With "ginormous" read-aloud appeal, this title is highly recommended for picture book collections.-Brianne Colombo, Fairfield Free Public Library, NJ © Copyright 2018. 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
Once upon a time, there was a BIG BUNNY," begins this silly story-within-a-story, with lots of kid-friendly, peanut gallerytype interruptions: "A ginormously SCARY bunny?" Mixed-media illustrations ("pieced together with this & that," per the copyright page) depict the zaniness as the bunny's quest for carrots takes it from outer space to a city--and with the narrator and listener humorously revealed on the last page. (c) Copyright 2019. 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
A little reader adapts their caregiver's bedtime story."Once upon a time, there was a BIG BUNNY," begins the storyteller. "A ginormously SCARY bunny?" prompts the listening little one. As the story spirals larger and larger and finds the giant bunny ingesting the contents of vegetable trucks driven by trucker penguins, Watkins comments upon the push and pull between adults and children and what each party wants in stories for little ones. Watkins' illustrations are dynamic and absurd, pushing the boundaries of scale and perspective as the Big Bunny rampages through the story. There is no text but dialogue, the child's in a boldfaced sans-serif type and the adult's in a much more staid typeface. The eventual reveal of the storyteller's and listener's identities is a great gag, and there are plenty of little jokes scattered through the margins that readers of all ages will enjoy. Watkins' glee in crafting a near-anarchic tale is infectious, sparking imaginations and appreciation for storytelling in equal measure.An exciting and endearing tale for young and old alike. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
