SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: The Tugboat and the Silver Moon
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://kerstenhamilton.com/
CITY: Albuquerque
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 373
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born October 19, 1958, in High Rolls, NM; daughter of John Reece and Kathy Sewell; married Mark Hamilton (a computer programmer); children: James, Meghan, Isaac.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author. Writing instructor, beginning 1989; Shades Mountain Christian School, writer-in-residence, 1991-92; Association of Christian Schools International, consultant for reading programs, 1992-94; Hosanna, editor, 1993-95. Also worked as a ranch hand, wood cutter, lumberjack, census taker, wilderness guide, and archaeological surveyor.
AVOCATIONS:Excavating dinosaur fossils.
POLITICS: “Independent.” RELIGION: Christian.WRITINGS
Author of educational picture books; contributor to language-arts and health-education curriculum and to periodicals.
SIDELIGHTS
In addition to working as a lumberjack, archaeological surveyor, and census taker, Kersten Hamilton has written more than thirty works for children and young adults. Hamilton’s picture books, which include Police Officers on Patrol and Yellow Copter, feature sing-song texts full of toddler appeal, and her “Goblin Wars” young-adult novel trilogy blends Irish mythology and the paranormal. Geared for middle-grade readers, Hamilton’s “Gadget and Gears” steampunk fantasies include the novels The Mesmer Menace and The Ire of Iron Claw.
Firefighters to the Rescue! presents a typical day in the life of a community firefighter, with activities ranging from tidying up around the fire house to jumping into the fire engine and racing to a dangerous fire. A Kirkus Reviews writer maintained that Hamilton’s “exciting look at firefighting is steeped in 1950s style and engaging rhyme.” A team of friendly and hard-working law enforcement officials help direct traffic, reunite a lost child with his mother, and thwart thieves in a companion picture book, Police Officers on Patrol. In School Library Journal, Gloria Koster predicted of these books that “preschoolers will be reassured that special people are there to assist” in difficult situations.
A hard-working tow truck is profiled in Red Truck, which features a rhythmic text and simply drawn illustrations by Valeria Petrone. The pacing of Hamilton’s story here is “undeniably fun,” noted Julie R. Ranelli in her School Library Journal review. In Horn Book, Betty Carter recommended Red Truck as part of “a literary journey through the preschool world of wheels.” A related work, Yellow Copter, finds a brightly colored rescue helicopter coming to the aid of a schoolteacher trapped at the top of a malfunctioning Ferris wheel. A writer in Kirkus Reviews explained that the story’s “tone is one of hope, which should assuage anxious readers.” The veritable parade of colorful vehicles continues with Blue Boat, in which a little tugboat churns along to save the day when a sailboat sustains damage with a storm blowing in.
(open new) Orange Excavator finds the titular vehicle performing various jobs in its city. The smiling excavator helps to load a dump truck with trash, helps to fix a water-related disaster by installing a new water pipe, and digs a large hole in which a tree is planted. “Young construction-vehicle mavens will enjoy this fun romp,” predicted a contributor to Kirkus Reviews. In Merry Christmas, Red Truck, a healthcare worker is driving her car on Christmas Eve, and the car slips on the ice, becoming stuck. The tow truck driver hops in Red Truck and sets off to rescue the healthcare worker. When they arrive on the scene, Red Truck and the driver begin pulling the car, but they become mired in the snow, too. A snow plow helps Red Truck and its driver successfully remove the car. Ultimately, the healthcare worker makes it home to be with her family. Robin Sofge, critic in WebOnlyReviewsSLJ, asserted: “Text and illustrations work well together to convey the message of the story.”(close new—more below)
Tyger Tyger, the first installment in Hamilton’s “Goblin Wars” trilogy, introduces Teagan Wylltson, a Chicago teenager whose life is turned upside down when her long-lost cousin Finn Mac Cumhaill moves in with her family. A member of the Travelers, a gypsy-like folk, Finn claims to also be a fierce goblin-fighter. When her father is abducted by terrifying creatures known as Sidhe, Teagan and Finn embark on a perilous mission to rescue him by journeying to Mag Mell, a kingdom ruled by Fear Doirich. In Tyger Tyger, “Hamilton has created characters who are quirky and complex,” observed Genevieve Gallagher in School Library Journal, and a Publishers Weekly reviewer predicted that “myth-savvy readers will revel in the clever twists and surprises” in Hamilton’s tale.
Teagan and Finn’s saga continues in In the Forests of the Night. Having learned of her goblin ancestry, Teagan struggles to resist Fear Doirich’s attempts to lure her back to Mag Mell. After several attacks on her loved ones, however, she decides to murder her nemesis, entering Mag Mell with an iron knife given to her by the devious Queen Mab. “Hamilton is a wizard at creating tension,” a writer stated in Kirkus Reviews, “building on characters’ strengths and weaknesses until the plot really takes off.” As goblins from Mag Mell enter the human world, Teagan and Finn prepare for an epic confrontation with the fairy queen in When the Stars Threw down Their Spears, which a Kirkus Reviews critic praised as a “spectacular conclusion” to a series set in a “complex world with fascinating magic and appealing characters.”
With The Mesmer Menace Hamilton opens her “Gadgets and Gears” series of steampunk novels for preteens. Set in 1902, and narrated by a pet dachshund named Noodles, the novel centers on Wally Kennewickett, the inventive twelve-year-old son of two brilliant scientists. After his parents are summoned to Washington, DC, by U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, Wally must stand alone against the growing evil posed by the mesmers, a cadre of nefarious magicians intent on world domination. According to a contributor in Kirkus Reviews, Hamilton’s “flashes of originality and sly humor, bolstered by nifty, gear-laden illustrations [by her son James Hamilton], keep the enterprise afloat.”
In the later “Gadgets and Gears” title The Tick-Tock Man, Wally and Noodles find themselves staying in London with suffragist aunt Rhodope. Befriending a street performer named Dobbin, Wally hopes to help prevent a kidnapping by the nefarious Tick Tock. From the low of Dobbin and his sick sister Briney’s home in the London sewers to a high of breakfast with a helpful Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Wally is equal to the challenges. A Kirkus Reviews writer affirmed that the “action is swift, the setting vivid,” and found The Tick-Tock Man to be the “strongest volume yet in an enjoyable series that keeps getting better.”
Days of the Dead is a work of middle-grade fiction drawing on Mexican culture and traditions. Living in Puerto de la Luna, New Mexico, Glorieta is still coming to terms with her mother’s death years ago. Since she died by suicide, her Catholic great-aunt, la Dona Diosonita, forbid a burial, and now that her father has remarried, Glorieta’s mother’s ashes have been relegated to a drawer. With the Dia de los Muertos—the Day of the Dead—a month away, Glorieta hopes to persuade her great-aunt to finally give her mother a proper burial, all while dealing with an abrasive stepsister, an unemployed father, and town turmoil over the arrivals of refugees. A Kirkus Reviews writer observed that Days of the Dead ‘s “combination of magical realism, syncretism, and Catholicism is thoughtful and realistic,” while the “complex, layered plot pulls no punches.”
Hamilton explores nuances of evolution and human-animal interaction in First Friend. Taking readers back to the Stone Age, the book shows a girl and wolf pup becoming friendly, although they both must go their separate ways as they mature. As the eras pass, children and wolf pups are shown to get closer and closer, until finally the wolf has evolved to become man’s proverbial best friend. A Kirkus Reviews writer appreciated the narrative’s “cleverly underscoring the enduring constancy of the child-puppy attraction.” The writer called First Friend “delightful—especially appealing for young readers who have or wish for a puppy.”
(open new)Hamilton released two tugboat-related books in 2024. In The Tugboat and the Silver Moon, she tells the story of a boat called Tug, who befriends the moon. Tug and other vehicles try to help a cargo ship that is stuck, but they are unable to free it. Tug waits for the moon to become full and large, so that her gravitational pull will lift the cargo ship. Tug and his vehicle friends are finally able to free the ship. The backmatter reveals that the book was inspired by a real 2021 incident in the Suez Canal. A Kirkus Reviews critic described the volume as “a dynamic rescue tale laced with an age-appropriate science lesson.” The book, Tugboat, finds Hamilton telling the story of Cordelia, a goat with a big dream. Cordelia loves tugboats and wants to pretend to be one. Her friend, Pog the pig, procures supplies to help her realize her dream. Though the two animals initially annoy another goat, Hyacinth, she learns to appreciate them when Pog and Cordelia pull her free from a mud bog. Catherine Callegari, contributor to School Library Journal, called the book “an affirming tale of being true to your dreams.”(close new)
Asked if she had any advice for aspiring picture-book authors, Hamilton told Cynsations interviewer Cynthia Leitich Smith that young children “are sophisticated thinkers and storytellers who lack only reading skills. Learning to track those letters across the page is one of the most difficult things they will ever do. Use every tool and skill you have to make sure it is a thrilling journey and that the payoff at the end makes the hard work worthwhile.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, July, 1997, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Butterfly Book: A Kid’s Guide to Attracting, Raising, and Keeping Butterflies, p. 1813; April 15, 2001, Helen Rosenberg, review of This Is the Ocean, p. 1562; May 15, 2005, John Peters, review of Firefighters to the Rescue!, p. 1665; February 15, 2009, Carolyn Phelan, review of Police Officers on Patrol, p. 87; November 1, 2010, Krista Hutley, review of Tyger Tyger, p. 65.
Horn Book, March-April, 2008, Betty Carter, review of Red Truck, p. 203; November-December, 2014, Katrina Hedeen, review of The Mesmer Menace, p. 134.
Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2005, review of Firefighters to the Rescue!, p. 589; October 1, 2010, review of Tyger Tyger; September 15, 2011, review of In the Forests of the Night; June 15, 2013, review of When the Stars Threw down Their Spears ; September 15, 2013, review of The Mesmer Menace; March 1, 2015, review of Yellow Copter; March 15, 2016, review of Blue Boat; April 1, 2016, review of The Tick-Tock Man; August 15, 2018, review of Days of the Dead; January 1, 2021, review of First Friend; June 15, 2022, review of Orange Excavator;September 15, 2022, review of What’s Up, Pup?: How Our Furry Friends Communicate and What They Are Saying; June 1, 2024, review of The Tugboat and the Silver Moon.
Publishers Weekly, October 18, 2010, review of Tyger Tyger, p. 50.
School Library Journal, February, 1996, Anna DeWind, review of Rockabye Rabbit, p. 84; June, 2001, Diane Olivo-Posner, review of This Is the Ocean, p. 136; July, 2005, Kathleen Meulen, review of Firefighters to the Rescue!, p. 74; April, 2008, Julie R. Ranelli, review of Red Truck, p. 110; April, 2009, Gloria Koster, review of Police Officers on Patrol, p. 106; December, 2010, Genevieve Gallagher, review of Tyger Tyger, p. 114; February, 2012, Christi Esterle, review of In the Forests of the Night, p. 120; February, 2014, Kathy Kirchoefer, review of When the Stars Threw down Their Spears, p. 105; June, 2024, Catherine Callegari, review of Tuggoat, p. 68.
Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 2010, Amanda-Jane McFadden, review of Tyger Tyger, p. 471; December, 2011, Hanna Forrester, review of In the Forests of the Night, p. 512; August, 2013, Nancy K. Wallace, review of When the Stars Threw down Their Spears, p. 76.
WebOnlyReviewsSLJ, October 6, 2023, Robin Sofge, review of Merry Christmas, Red Truck, p. 1.
ONLINE
Abigail Rehmert blog, https://abigailrehmert.com/ (September 13, 2019), author interview.
Cynsations, http://cynthialetichsmith.blogspot.com/ (June 18, 2008), Cynthia Leitich Smith, author interview.
Erin Murphy Literary Agency website, https://emiliterary.com/ (December 17, 2024), author profile.
Kersten Hamilton website, https://kerstenhamilton.com (December 17, 2024).
Rhapsody in Books, http://rhapsodyinbooks.wordpress.com/ (January 27, 2012), review of In the Forests of the Night.*
I was born in a trailer in High Rolls, New Mexico, in 1958.
By my sixth birthday, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be a writer. I was fascinated by the sound of words, the sweep of story. I wanted to make word magic and tuck it inside the covers of a book.
A writer needs a very tough skin. And she needs something to write about.
Fortunately, my parents were quite eccentric. My childhood can only be described as ‘exciting.’
I tracked caribou and arctic wolves across my family’s homestead in Alaska, caught tiny tree frogs in the swamps and rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, and chased dust devils and rattlesnakes across the high desert of New Mexico.
Against all odds, I survived my many misadventures. I was not electrocuted or drowned. Most of the bullets missed, and the incidents with bears, snakes, wolves, and angry moose were not fatal.
Before I settled down to have children I worked as a ranch hand, a wood cutter, a lumberjack, a census taker, a wrangler for wilderness guides, and an archeological surveyor.
I am the author of several picture books and many middle grade novels. Tyger Tyger, book one of the Goblin Wars series, is my first novel for young adults.
The True Story of How I Began and What Happened Next
I was born in a trailer in the mountains of southern New Mexico.
By my sixth birthday, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be a writer! I was fascinated by the sound of words, the sweep of story. I wanted to make word magic and tuck it inside the covers of a book. This would prove to be difficult, as a wayward fairy (apparently not invited to my christening!) blessed me with dyslexia and dysgraphia topped with a dollop of autism spectrum disorder. Unaware of the academic and social trouble ahead, I set off to have an exciting childhood.
The trailer where I was born. That tiny baby is me.
Me in Alaska with the biggest stick and a bigger attitude.
I’m the one with the robe, crown and pup, of course!
I tracked caribou and arctic wolves across my family’s homestead in Alaska, caught tiny tree frogs in the swamps and rain forests of the Pacific Northwest, and chased dust devils and rattlesnakes across the high desert of New Mexico.
I escaped electrocution when a typhoon blew power lines down over yet another trailer in a swamp in Washington state, and evaded drowning when a station wagon spun out of control onto thin lake ice in Alaska. Most of the bullets missed, and none of the incidents with bears, snakes, wolves, or angry moose were fatal. Life was exciting!
Sadly, school was not. It was painful. I had trouble reading, and spelling was impossible. I couldn’t make all the stories inside me legible to other people. So, I told them to my dogs, cats, birds, and bugs instead.
School became even more difficult in the 9th grade. I had figured out methods for reading, but taking notes by hand was an impossibility. Coupled with other dark chaos in my life*, it was too much. I dropped out. I spent the next 8 years moving from place to place and working as a ranch hand, a wood cutter, a lumberjack, a census taker, a wrangler for wilderness guides, and an archeological surveyor. And working hard to find the tools and work-arounds I needed to send my stories into the world.
And I found them! I did! Computers, spell checkers and a friend who believed me when I said I was a writer and was willing to read every word before I submitted it. Reader, I married him on the spot.
Now, I am Mom to my children, Grimm to my grandchildren, and a fearless defender of bugs and other beasties. When I am not writing I hunt dinosaurs with my husband through the Ojito Wilderness. He believes I will find one.
*I talk about that chaos in Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves (True Stories), edited by Miranda Kenneally and E. Kristin Anderson:
Bio
Kersten Hamilton is the critically acclaimed author of books for toddlers, teens, and all people in between. Her fast-paced stories are loved by readers around the world. RED TRUCK (illustrated by Valeria Petrone), which was called “well-crafted” and “appealing” in a starred review from Booklist has sold almost a quarter of a million copies, gave rise to a series nitty-gritty machine books for itty-bitty readers that now includes YELLOW COPTER, BLUE BOAT, GREEN TRACTOR, and soon, ORANGE EXCAVATOR and MERRY CHRISTMAS, RED TRUCK! Her picture book about the evolution of dogs from wild wolves to humans’ best friend, FIRST FRIEND (illustrated by Jaime Kim), was called “lyrical” and “delightful” by Kirkus and received a starred review from SLJ, and her YA novel IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT (second in the Goblin Wars trilogy) led Kirkus to call her “a wizard at creating tension.” She is eagerly awaiting her invitation to wizarding school. Kersten has worked as a ranch hand, a wood cutter, a lumberjack, a census taker, a wrangler for wilderness guides, and an archeological surveyor. She currently lives in New Mexico, where, when not writing, she hunts dinosaurs in the Ojito Wilderness.
Kersten Hamilton is the critically acclaimed author of books for toddlers, teens, and all people in between. Her fast-paced stories are loved by readers around the world. Red Truck (illustrated by Valeria Petrone), which was called “well-crafted” and “appealing” in a starred review from Booklist has sold almost a quarter of a million copies, gave rise to a series nitty-gritty machine books for itty-bitty readers that now includes Yellow Copter, Blue Boat, Green Tractor, Orange Excavator and Merry Christmas, Red Truck! Her picture book about the evolution of dogs from wild wolves to humans’ best friend, First Friend (illustrated by Jaime Kim), was called “lyrical” and “delightful” by Kirkus and received a starred review from SLJ, and her YA novel In the Forests of the Night (second in the Goblin Wars trilogy) led Kirkus to call her “a wizard at creating tension.” She is eagerly awaiting her invitation to wizarding school. Kersten has worked as a ranch hand, a wood cutter, a lumberjack, a census taker, a wrangler for wilderness guides, and an archeological surveyor. She currently lives in New Mexico, where, when not writing, she hunts dinosaurs in the Ojito Wilderness.
Open to work for hire and IP work in board books, picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and young adult.
Agent
Erin Murphy
QUOTED: "an affirming tale of being true to your dreams."
HAMILTON, Kersten. Tuggoat. illus. by Adriane lsai. 40p. Beaming Bks. Apr. 2024. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781506491332.
K-Gr 3--Cordelia is a goat with a "heart dream" of being a tugboat. She loves everything about them, especially the way they are always there to help. Pog the pig is her best friend who helps make her Tuggoat dream come true. Hyacinth is the goat who doesn't want to hear any nonsense about Tuggoats and makes her opinion known to Cordelia and Pog, loudly and often. Cordelia has been practicing her signal horn sounds for hours when Pog shows her the bumper and towline (fallen tire swing) he found for her. With her new equipment, the new Tuggoat zooms around the farm, towing Pog who's on a burlap sack tied to the towline. They nearly run over Hyacinth who declares the whole thing ludicrous. Undeterred, the pair prepare to zoom down the hay mound when they hear calls for help from none other than Hyacinth. Stuck in a bog and sinking, Hyacinth grudgingly allows Tuggoat to help--and save the day. There is more in Tsai's crisp, uncluttered, and lighthearted illustrations--an excellent match for Hamilton's plentiful text; together they create the perfect ending. The animals display a range of easy-to-read expressions and emotions, making the story suitable for emerging readers. VERDICT An affirming tale of being true to your dreams and the power of friendship in making those dreams come true. It's never too early to learn that haters gonna hate. --Catherine Callegari
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Callegari, Catherine. "HAMILTON, Kersten. Tuggoat." School Library Journal, vol. 70, no. 6, June 2024, p. 68. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A798594606/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9af0551f. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
QUOTED: "a dynamic rescue tale laced with an age-appropriate science lesson."
Hamilton, Kersten THE TUGBOAT AND THE SILVER MOON Viking (Children's None) $18.99 7, 9 ISBN: 9780593528396
A massive cargo ship is unable to free herself without help from the moon.
Tug the Tugboat notices that his friend the moon looks quite small. "I only look little because I am not yet close," the moon explains. "It's all part of my dance." Tug loves the moon's dance--it brings in the tides that allow boats to sail. Unfortunately, when the cargo ship becomes wedged in the sand and silt, the moon is still too far off to intervene. Tug attempts to help, as do three diggers and a dredger, but it's impossible to budge the vessel from the canal. The ship is held fast for seven days until the moon reaches her largest size. Now that she's "the fullest and closest and strongest she could possibly be," she uses her gravitational pull to create a massive wave that lifts the ship up--with some assistance from Tug and company. The backmatter is essential to understanding what happens to the ship; it clearly explains concepts such as tides and gravitational pull. Inspired by the true story of the Ever Given, which in 2021 became stuck in the Suez Canal, the narrative is related in a breathtaking manner that will leave readers on the edge of their seats. Action-filled digital artwork featuring charmingly anthropomorphized characters effectively supports the text.
A dynamic rescue tale laced with an age-appropriate science lesson. (Picture book. 4-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Hamilton, Kersten: THE TUGBOAT AND THE SILVER MOON." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A795673755/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=34d68fd6. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
QUOTED: "Text and illustrations work well together to convey the message of the story."
HAMILTON, Kersten. Merry Christmas, Red Truck. illus. by Valeria Petrone. 28p. (Red Truck and Friends). Viking. Oct. 2023. Board $8.99. ISBN 9780593528426.
PreS—A tow truck operator in his Red Truck, the hero of the story, rescues a medical professional whose car gets stuck on an icy street on Christmas Eve. The healthcare worker is shown with her hands on her face and a look of shock as her car appears entrenched in the snow. Accompanying text reads, "Oh no! Help me, Red Truck!" The operator puts chains on Red Truck's tires and slowly and safely continues on the road to the healthcare worker, passing other cars who are also slipping on the ice. But as the Red Truck gets closer, he needs help, too. A plow driver pitches in to assist by moving snow so Red Truck can help the medical professional. The incident wraps up on a happy note, with the medical professional at home hugging her children. Text is short and simple and includes many sounds such as thunk, clunk, crunch, grip, zooms, and whooosshhh. Illustrations are bright and colorful. Text and illustrations work well together to convey the message of the story. For example, when Red Truck and the operator go to help the medical professional, the text on the page reads, "Brave, STRONG, and shining bright, Red Truck ROOOARS into the night!" The story ends saying, "Thank you, helpers everywhere!" Although it tries to promote different types of heroes, this story may read as a tale about a damsel in distress to some people.
VERDICT: This supplemental purchase is a unique Christmas story that shows different kinds of heroes.—Robin Sofge
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
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Sofge, Robin. "Merry Christmas, Red Truck." WebOnlyReviewsSLJ, vol. 69, no. 10, 6 Oct. 2023, p. 1. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A770206586/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2c07c687. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
Hamilton, Kersten WHAT'S UP, PUP? Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Children's None) $18.99 11, 15 ISBN: 978-0-374-38919-2
Dogs "speak" in body language--literally!
Sounds are involved in canine communications, certainly, but dogs mostly employ a series of movements to express themselves to guardians and other dogs, and they ingeniously use body parts--eyes, ears, paws, noses, faces, tongues, butts, legs, and tails--to say what they want to say. Additionally, where dogs happen to be at any given moment and the circumstances they find themselves in also figure into how pooches relay important messages. Dogs have much to tell us, and this book clarifies the basics of pupspeak effectively and humorously, getting its points across in simple, albeit clunky, verse. When necessary to make the rhyme scheme and rhythm work--and to enhance child friendliness--some words are occasionally substituted for familiar vocabulary; e.g., waggers for tails and sniffers for noses. Different type sizes and some words set in all capitals heighten visual interest. The lively, colorful illustrations have child appeal and feature frisky pups of various colors, sizes, and breeds; one particular large, yellow, curly-haired, red-leashed pet pooch plays a starring role. Stylized-looking humans are diverse in terms of race and age. Endpapers present an assortment of jaunty dogs "speaking." Backmatter includes an author's note, an explanation of the dog language used in the book, dog facts, and a bibliography. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An upbeat reminder that canine conversations are rich with meaning. (Informational picture book. 3-6)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Hamilton, Kersten: WHAT'S UP, PUP?" Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A717107432/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=372ef599. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.
QUOTED: "Young construction-vehicle mavens will enjoy this fun romp."
Hamilton, Kersten ORANGE EXCAVATOR Viking (Children's None) $7.99 8, 23 ISBN: 978-0-593-20240-1
When hard work needs to get done, who're you gonna call?
Young construction-vehicle mavens will enjoy this fun romp that takes them through a cheery bright-orange excavator's typical workday: crushing garbage and loading it into a dump truck; helping with the installation of a new water pipe after the old one broke and spewed water through a city street; and digging a deep, wide hole in which to plant the mayor's new tree. Through all these tough, painstaking tasks, the excavator "wears" an ever present smiling face, headlights standing in for large, bright eyes. Jaunty verses that mostly read and scan well narrate the brisk proceedings, and listeners are likely to want to chime in whenever the excavator's assistance is called for in refrains such as "We need you, Orange Excavator!"--set in orange type, of course. The unfamiliar word excavator in itself should excite little ones because of its length, juicy mouth feel, and aural appeal. Kids will also appreciate the lively, though generic, illustrations; enhancing visual interest are several words throughout set in larger, colored capitals. The excavator's driver is brown-skinned; other workers and passersby are diverse in skin tone and age. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Especially for fans of big trucks and machinery. (Board book. 2-4)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Hamilton, Kersten: ORANGE EXCAVATOR." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2022, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A706932779/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7dc69fad. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.