Whose Moon Is That?

Whose Moon Is That? Kim Krans. 2017. Random House. 40 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: "Whose moon is that?" asked the curious cat.

Premise/plot: A curious cat starts an argument when he asks 'Whose moon is that?' EVERYONE has an opinion--the tree, the mountain, a bird, a bear, an ocean.What will stop the argument? Is it the moon's answer or the rising sun?

My thoughts: It was okay for me. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. I am not the ideal audience for books where oceans and trees speak...and speak in rhyme. Animal fantasy is one thing but I have limits to how far I can suspend my disbelief.

I personally wish the question had been Who Made the Moon?

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10


© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Tweak Tweak

Tweak Tweak by Eve Bunting. Illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier. 2011. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 40 pages.

"Hold on to my tail, Little Elephant," Mama Elephant said. "Today we are going for a walk. If you want to ask me a question, tweak twice."
Tweak, Tweak! 
"Yes, my little elephant?" 
"Mama? What is that?"
"That is a frog."
"What is he doing?"
"He's jumping."
"Can I jump?"
"No, because you are not a frog. You are a little elephant. But you can stomp your foot and make a big sound."
"Like that, Mama?
"Just like that, my little elephant."
And on they went.

I enjoyed Tweak Tweak very much! I loved the Mother Elephant and Little Elephant. I loved the question-answer format of it. How curious Little Elephant was. How Mother Elephant always related everything back to her little one. I thought it was fun and playful. But. As much as I enjoyed the text. As much as I liked the text--really, really liked the text. I must admit that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the illustrations. For me, the illustrations make this one a LOVE. I just love Sergio Ruzzier's illustrations. They were playful, fun, expressive, and dare I say it? Cute! I thought they complemented the text nicely!

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

© 2011 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Have You Ever Seen A Duck in A Raincoat?

Kaner, Etta. 2009. Have You Ever Seen a Duck In a Raincoat. Kids Can Press.

Are you curious about animals? Are you always asking questions? Then maybe just maybe this book is for you. The book features a boy and girl asking questions--some of which seem silly--about animals. Questions include "Have you ever seen a duck in a raincoat?", "Have you ever seen a jackrabbit in shorts?", "Have you ever seen a whale in a parka?", etc. There are seven question and answers included in this book. (Though this book appears to be one in a series of books.)

I said the questions seem silly. But really, when you're curious, you're curious. And I admit--to this day even--asking some seemingly bizarre or silly questions of my parents. The book is about how humans and animals are different.

The text is informative and straightforward. No problems there.

Though you can't tell from the cover, Have You Ever Seen a Duck In A Raincoat features some of the worst illustrations I've ever seen in a book--published by a real publisher at least. It's not that the illustrator can't draw animals--he can; he does. It's that his human characters--this boy and girl--are so poorly drawn. (That's not even including the embarrassing shot of a grown boy riding a tricycle.)



© Becky Laney of Young Readers