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TEDDY BEAR, TEDDY BEAR, SCHOOL DAY MATH

Name: TEDDY BEAR, TEDDY BEAR, SCHOOL DAY MATH
Author: Barbara Barbieri McGrath
ISBN: 978-1-58089-420-3

From the McGrath Math series

by Barbara Barbieri McGrath & illustrated by Tim Nihoff ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2012

Cutesy, but ultimately lacking in substance—there is little here that will draw children (or teachers) for a second reading.

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In the bears’ third outing, the counters, classroom staple that they are, invite readers to follow the cadence of the familiar jump-rope rhyme and answer some simple math questions.

McGrath fixes the who’s-my-audience problem that plagued Teddy Bear Math (2011) by returning to the youngest math learners, but her focus could still use some tightening. Readers are challenged to count, then skip-count, identify a group of four, and tell whether there are fewer of this color or that one. A balance scale allows children to identify which of two bears weighs more. Readers are also asked to tell which group has more than five, complete two different patterns, and solve one addition and one subtraction problem. Throughout, McGrath’s rhyming verses may encourage audiences to do more than math: “Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, / a great big laugh. / Which teddy bear / is a bear in half?” The scattershot approach does not go deeply into any one math concept or afford readers any sense of continuity or pattern. As in the previous two titles, Nihoff’s bears coordinate well with the text; this time his hand-drawn digital illustrations are accompanied by collaged found objects.

Cutesy, but ultimately lacking in substance—there is little here that will draw children (or teachers) for a second reading. (Math picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: July 1, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-58089-420-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Charlesbridge

Review Posted Online: May 8, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2012

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE FLYING PENGUINS
by Barbara Barbieri McGrath ; illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman

- BOOK REVIEW
BIRTHDAY COUNTING
by Barbara Barbieri McGrath ; illustrated by Peggy Tagel

- BOOK REVIEW
PARADE COLORS
by Barbara Barbieri McGrath ; illustrated by Peggy Tagel

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CINDERELLA

From the Once Upon a World series

by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Sandra Equihua ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016

A nice but not requisite purchase.

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A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.

Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.

A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)

Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LITTLE MERMAID
adapted by Hannah Eliot ; illustrated by Nivea Ortiz

- BOOK REVIEW
THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA
by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova

- BOOK REVIEW
RAPUNZEL
by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan

- BOOK REVIEW
THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA
by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova

- BOOK REVIEW
RAPUNZEL
by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan

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THE GRUFFALO

by Julia Donaldson illustrated by Axel Scheffler ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1999

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The action of this rhymed and humorous tale centers upon a mouse who "took a stroll/through the deep dark wood./A fox saw the mouse/and the mouse looked good." The mouse escapes being eaten by telling the fox that he is on his way to meet his friend the gruffalo (a monster of his imagination), whose favorite food is roasted fox. The fox beats a hasty retreat. Similar escapes are in store for an owl and a snake; both hightail it when they learn the particulars: tusks, claws, terrible jaws, eyes orange, tongue black, purple prickles on its back. When the gruffalo suddenly materializes out of the mouse's head and into the forest, the mouse has to think quick, declaring himself inedible as the "scariest creature in the deep dark wood," and inviting the gruffalo to follow him to witness the effect he has on the other creatures. When the gruffalo hears that the mouse's favorite food is gruffalo crumble, he runs away. It's a fairly innocuous tale, with twists that aren't sharp enough and treachery that has no punch. Scheffler's funny scenes prevent the suspense from culminating; all his creatures, predator and prey, are downright lovable. (Picture book. 3-6)