Lynne RickardsReseñas

I read this for my pre school class. The kids really liked this book and it made the boys comfortable with liking pink

Found at the thrift store. A cute story about accepting our differences. Both kids seem to enjoy this one.... There are penguins and one is pink... What's not to like. ;)

"Harris the puffin loved living at sea. / There really was no place that he'd rather be. / But ever since Lewis, his brother, left home, / poor Harris was feeling quite sad and alone." And so begins this rollicking sequel to Lynne Rickards and Gabby Grant's Lewis Clowns Around, which followed a puffin as he struck out on his own, becoming a circus bird. Here we return to his childhood home, where his brother Harris is not faring so well, since he left. Determined to find the companionship he needs and desires, Harris also strikes out on his own, finding a young seal in need of help instead. But as the narrator informs the reader toward the close of the book, "It just goes to show that whatever you do, / if you help someone else, it might just help you too!"

As with its predecessor, the influence of the work of Dr. Seuss on Lynne Rickards' poetry in Harris the Hero is immediately apparent. There is a cadence to her rhyming text, when read aloud, that would make it an excellent story-hour selection - it just rolls off the tongue. The story itself is appealing, despite its obvious didactic ending, and young readers and listeners who enjoyed the story of Lewis' search for self will likewise appreciate this tale of Harris' longing for a companion. The artwork by Gabby Grant is colourful and endearing, capturing the charm of the various aquatic animals which come to the seal's aid. All in all, a worthy follow-up to Lewis Clowns Around, and an excellent addition to Edinburgh-based Floris Books' Picture Kelpies line, intended to highlight and promote picture-books with a Scottish theme.

Lewis Clowns Around is about a puffin who is tired of having a normal life and decides that he wants to go to a circus and become a clown. He is hired by a ringmaster of a circus but realizes that being a puffin is very important as well as being a clown.

There once were two puffins who lived on a rock; / Harris was happy, but Lewis was not. / At dinnertime, Lewis complained with a sigh, / "I hate eating fish, and these cliffs are too high. / The waves make me seasick, the wind makes me spin, / I'm hopeless at flying - I just don't fit in." And so begins this rollicking tale of Lewis, a puffin who decides to strike out on his own, leaving his brother and their parliament, to become a circus clown. Hired by the foxy ringmaster, our alcidine hero joins Carla Koala's act, and trains for his big debut as a performer. But when opening night comes, and his partner finds herself in trouble, Lewis discovers that being a puffin is just as important as being a clown...

Lewis Clowns Around is the second title I have read thus far, from the Picture Kelpies collection (the first was Wee Granny's Magic Bag), put out by Edinburgh-based publisher Floris Books, and intended to highlight "original Scottish picture books" of worth. I enjoyed it a great deal! Lewis makes for an engaging avian hero, and I thought his calling as a clown was quite appropriate, given the fact that puffins are sometimes known as the "clowns of the sea." Apparently Lynne Rickards, who was born in the USA, but now lives in Scotland, is very influenced by the work of Dr. Seuss - something I could readily see, when reading through her poetic tale. With a rhyming text that rolls off the tongue, and cute color illustrations from Gabby Grant, this would make an excellent read-aloud selection. Well worth the time of any young reader who like puffins (I'm fond of them myself), or who enjoys poetic picture-books!

I work in a girls’ school where all things pink-related are popular, and this picture book is no exception… Patrick the Penguin wakes up one morning to discover that he has turned pink overnight. Patrick is distraught – boys are not pink! Browsing through a book with his father, however, he does realize that some birds (and boys) ARE pink – flamingoes – and decides to set off to Africa. The flamingoes are very welcoming when Patrick arrives, but when they all nap standing on one leg, and later fly to the nesting ground, Patrick realizes that maybe this is not the right place for him either…
My students thoroughly enjoyed this picture book about the penguin who doesn’t quite fit in. We had a wonderful discussion about what may have turned Patrick pink, and about what we could do to make people who might feel excluded feel better. Of course, when Patrick returns to the South Pole his classmates realize how much they missed him, and that his pink feathers really make no difference at all!
Also posted at http://manybooksmanyvoices.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/pink-by-lynne-rickards/

Little Jacob O'Reilly thought he wanted a pet, but after two weeks of caring for a varietyof animals at his pet-sitting business he's not sure.