Hilarious. How will Yam and Donkey top this? (Picture book. 5-8)
Ewe will love it! (You will too.)
Bell introduces readers to a humorous trio: the studious, bespectacled Yam, the slow-witted Donkey, and the titular, and mostly silent, Ewe. Donkey kicks off the foolishness in initially mistaking the anthropomorphic tuber and the female sheep for fellow donkeys. When Yam corrects these errors and explains that “this is Ewe,” the snowball of wordplay begins its long descent down the hill of wackiness. Along the way, readers learn what a homonym is. Bell fits a lot into the story, making good use of speech bubbles and sequential panels across spreads of the picture book. She also keeps the humor interlaced with moments of learning that play well with the page turns. The artwork is bold, with thick, black lines and bright, simple colors, so it will play well to the back of a storytime room or classroom. Some adults may find the multiple voices to be a challenge as a solo reader, but it’s well worth the effort, as the combination of language and images will have young readers in fits of giggles. The artwork beautifully conveys the zany hijinks. Following the pupils in Donkey’s googly eyes as it thinks about each new concept is a silly joy in itself.
Hilarious. How will Yam and Donkey top this? (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-52611-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Funny and thought provoking.
The hidden history of one of the world’s most popular pieces of furniture.
An anthropomorphized fox in a purple jacket and green pants stands on a stage, showcasing various kinds of sofas and what they’re used for: eating, sleeping, dance parties, and sliding down pillows. Just as the fox is about to provide a demonstration of that last activity, complete with a drawing, an opossum in a gray pinstriped suit emerges: “You can’t show that to children! Someone could break their neck!” Using a tape dispenser–like machine, the opossum covers up the offending image with a black censor bar. The fox continues to expose “truths” about couches: Some of them grow on farms (“Where do you think we got the term couch potato?”); they have an insatiable hunger, which leads to objects disappearing among the cushions; and some are actually aliens in disguise. The opossum is skeptical, but when a chaotic parade of couches enter the scene to prove the fox right, the opossum is forced to reconsider. This is a hilarious send-up of conspiracy theories and adults’ attempts to shelter children from the real world. Depicting elegantly attired creatures, Liniers’ muted artwork contrasts humorously with the surreal scenarios depicted. The dialogue between the fox and opossum is entertaining, but grown-ups might want to pre-read before read-alouds to avoid tripping over some phrasing (e.g., “secret elite couch enforcement squadron”).
Funny and thought provoking. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 23, 2024
ISBN: 9780593619131
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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