Loony Little

January 12, 2004
Transplanting Chicken Little to the Arctic Circle, Aston overlays the traditional tale with an environmental theme—with mixed results. "The sky is falling" becomes "the polar icecap is melting," a conclusion the titular loon draws when a drop of water falls on her head. On her way to alert the Polar Bear Queen, she picks up a band of animal friends, each of whom spells out for readers the dire implications: " 'Suffering puffalumps!' screeched Puffin Muffin. 'If the icecap is melting, will the sea rise?' " In the end, the Polar Bear Queen saves the animals from one enemy, but shows no interest in the whole global warming issue. Loony and her friends leave determined "to find someone who will care." Loony Little asks, "Like who?" and fixes her gaze on readers; there the story ends. Murphy (The Boll Weevil Ball
) paints a lovely wilderness in soft-edged mixed media. Turquoise water, lush gray-green forests and peach-toned sunsets reflected on the snow suggest a pristine land worth preserving. The story's conspicuous agenda creates an unsatisfying, uncertain ending, and the warning about a real-world threat sits uneasily within a classic cautionary tale against doomsaying. Ages 4-8.

November 15, 2019
"Chicken Little" for the environmentally aware. When Loony Little feels a drop of water hit the top of her head, she wails, "The polar ice cap is melting! I must go tell the Polar Bear Queen!" She meets a dovekie, a puffin, and an arctic hare along the way, several commenting about the effect: "the sea will rise, and my den might flood!" But when the group meets Sealy Sally, they rethink meeting the Polar Bear Queen, who recently ate Sealy Sally's cousin. Foxy Loxy offers to safely escort them, but Loony Little puts paid to his nefarious plan when she stumbles across the sign pointing to his den. A well-aimed piece of ice convinces Foxy Loxy the group is right, and he takes the news to the Polar Bear Queen...who promptly solves a more immediately pressing need than a melting ice cap. The four friends head off across the ice dolefully wondering what they can do. "It's up to us to find out," says Loony Little. "All of us." Backmatter explains climate change and the greenhouse effect, gives some ideas for ways kids can help--though many are either educational/research-based or work-intensive (grow a garden, plant trees)--and provides additional info about each of the animals. The textured paintings don't always match this information, often showing the loon on solid surfaces standing upright as a goose would, which is physically impossible. Not the most satisfying, accurate, or entertaining entrée to climate change. (resources) (Picture book. 5-9)

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.