by Lucy Cousins (Author) Lucy Cousins (Illustrator)
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Cousins's black outlines and cozy colors (which will be instantly recognizable to Maisy fans) tell the story of a young woodpecker learning to peck. "Now hold on tight. That's very good," says the woodpecker father to his offspring. "Then peck, peck, peck, peck, peck the wood." The junior woodpecker's first efforts are revealed with a small, die-cut hole: "Peck peck peck 'Oh, look, yippee!/ I've pecked a hole right through this tree.' " Eagerly, the bird ventures closer to a house and then inside it, turning successive pages into something that comes close to Swiss cheese. "I peck, peck, peck a magazine,/ a picture of Aunt Geraldine,/ an armchair, a teddy bear,/ and a book called Jane Eyre," boasts the small bird. Exhausted, the pecking student heads home to bed. The father woodpecker appears to be a single father, and the sex of the young woodpecker is unstated. The story is stripped-down and expertly paced, and the idea of receiving warm praise from a parent for poking holes in a bunch of random objects stays funny all the way through. Ages 2-5. (Aug.)
Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.PreS-Gr 1--Cousin's signature style is back in this enchanting picture book about a baby woodpecker. On the opening page, the bird is learning how to peck a tree. The little guy soon gets carried away and pecks not just through a tree, but also through a hat, a mat, tennis rackets, and a jacket. This book takes readers through an entire house from the front door to the bathroom. In the kitchen, "I peck, peck, peck/an eggplant,/a tangerine,/a butter dish,/a nectarine,/a green bean,/a sardine,/and seventeen jelly beans." Invoking memories of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar, there are also small cutout circles on each page. They grow more numerous as the woodpecker gets more and more carried away. With the detailed illustrations done in thick, dark lines and rhymes that flow easily, this book begs to be shared at storytime.--Brooke Rasche, La Crosse Public Library, WI
Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.