Available:*
Format | Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Book | Searching... East Regional Library | E Swa | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... Main Library | E Swa | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... North Regional Library | E Swa | Searching... Unknown |
| Book | Searching... South Regional Library | E Swa | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
A grasshopper mouth opens east-west but not south. They're like scissors for chopping up leaves. "Don't try to hide from a kiss on its side," says grandpa grasshopper to nymphs. How would a grasshopper kiss?Whichever it is, this much is true. When we say goodnight, I love all kinds of kisses from you!We humans smooch with our lips. But how do giraffes, whales, hummingbirds, tree frogs, and other creatures kiss? It's fun to wonder about and to see in the pages of this charming book, which includes facts about each animal at the end.
Author Notes
Heather Swain is the author of the teen novels Hungry and Gifted, as well as two craft books for kids. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York. heatheraswain.comSteven Henry (nee D'Amico) is the illustrator of It's Raining Bats and Frogs by Rebecca Colby, as well as the Ella the Elegant Elephant series. He lives in Seattle, Washington. stevenhenry.net
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Swain asks questions about the kinds of kisses that animals might give. Humpback whales, birds, frogs, and even piranhas? These questions are posed but not really answered. Instead, readers are told, for example, that humpbacks have "gigantic mouths to gobble up great gulps of shrimp. And through all the bubbles, mamas give cuddles and big, wet canoodles to calves." The book is charmingly illustrated, but the text is an unsatisfying mix of cloying cuteness, awkward rhymes, and informational bits about the creatures' eating habits. Henry's pencil illustrations are the most successful part of this clunky venture, and librarians looking for simple stories that give adults carte blanche to shower their little ones with affection will want to add this to their collections. Fun facts about the featured animals are appended. VERDICT Not a must-purchase, but an attractive option.-Shana Morales, Windsor Public Library, CT © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Swain (Gifted) invites readers to contemplate the types of kisses 11 animals might bestow on each other, based on their distinctive mouths, beaks, tongues, and jaws. A grasshopper's mouth, for instance, is "like scissors for chopping up leaves.... How would a grasshopper kiss?" Swain's text sticks to a rhythmic cadence that's easy to fall into, though her rhyme schemes are less consistent. What is consistent is the tenderness between the adult animals and their offspring, as captured in Henry's (It's Raining Bats and Cats) rough-edged, mid-20th-century-retro portraits. A closing spread offers additional details about the sun bears, porpoises, chubsuckers, and other features creatures. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Kerry Sparks, Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary. Illustrator's agent: Robin Rue, Writers House. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Humpback whales have gigantic mouths to gobble up great gulps of shrimp. / And through all the bubbles, mamas give cuddles and big, wet canoodles to calves." Twelve poetic descriptions, illustrated with softhearted but sturdy pencil and digitally painted art, each conclude with a question: how would the profiled animal kiss? Both rhyme scheme and rhythm are erratic, marring the elucidating text. Animal facts appended. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.