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A PIRATE’S GUIDE TO FIRST GRADE

A little boy with pirates on the brain navigates the first day of school. Narrating in a vigorous piratespeak, he takes readers through his day. “Then in the galley, I mashed me choppers on grub and drowned it with grog.” It may come as no surprise to learn that school comes as a bit of a letdown: “ ’Twas good enough for lubbers, I suppose. But where’s me treasure?’ ” he asks his teacher, “Cap’n” Silver, at the end of the day, and she obliges. Ruth matches the narration with striking line-and-watercolor graphics, surrounding his hero (who sports a skull-and-bones athletic jersey) with sepia-and-white pencil renderings of pirates (and a parrot) who silently kibitz on his day. Pirate-addled readers will dance a jig; press-ganged kids will be happy for the glossary. Good fun, me hearties. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2010

ISBN: 978-0-312-36928-6

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2010

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I WILL BE FIERCE

Birdsong began her career as a teacher, and the book will find repeated use in the classroom.

A multicultural girl-power manifesto featuring a feisty young girl who faces her day as a knight on an epic quest.

The unnamed narrator puts on her “armor” (a rainbow sweater) and fills her “treasure chest” (a backpack). Venturing forth to “explore new worlds,” she drives back “dragons” (neighborhood dogs on their walk), boards the “many-headed serpent” (her school bus, with schoolmates’ heads protruding from every window), and visits “the Mountain of Knowledge” (the school library) to “solve the mysteries of the unknown.” After standing up for her beliefs—by joining a classmate sitting alone in the cafeteria—the young girl returns home to rest in the lap of an older female relative, possibly a grandparent/primary caregiver, to prepare for the next day, when she can be “fierce again.” Birdsong’s repeated refrain—“I will be fierce!”—underlines the unambiguous message of this sassy picture book, and Chanani’s bold and energetic illustrations reinforce the text’s punchy, feminist-y declarations. They depict a joyously multiracial environment, consciously tackling stereotypes with an elderly, white, female bus driver and a groovy, Asian-presenting librarian with a green streak in her hair. The fierce protagonist herself has brown skin and fluffy, dark brown hair, and her caregiver also has brown skin.

Birdsong began her career as a teacher, and the book will find repeated use in the classroom. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: April 23, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-250-29508-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019

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GAME OVER, SUPER RABBIT BOY!

From the Press Start! series , Vol. 1

A strong series start.

In a video game, a superpowered rabbit must rescue a singing dog that brings everyone happiness.

In the frame story, a brown-skinned human protagonist plays a video game on a handheld console evocative of the classic Nintendo Gameboy. The bulk of the book relates the game’s storyline: Animal Town is a peaceful place where everyone is delighted by Singing Dog, until the fun-hating King Viking (whose black-mustachioed, pink-skinned looks reference the Super Mario Brothers game series villain, Wario) uses his army of robots to abduct Singing Dog. To save Singing Dog—and fun—the animals send the fastest among them, Simon the Hedgehog, to get Super Rabbit Boy (who gains speed and jumping powers by eating special carrots) to save the day. The chapters take Super Rabbit Boy through video game levels, with classic, video game–style settings and enemies. Throughout the book, when the game’s player loses either a life in the game or the game entirely, the unnamed kid must choose to persevere and not give up. The storylines are differentiated by colorful art styles—cartoonish for the real world, 8-bit pixel-sprite–style for the game. The fast, repetitive plot uses basic, simple sentences and child-friendly objects of interest, such as lakes of lava, for children working on reading independence, while the nerdy in-jokes benefit adults reading with a child.

A strong series start. (Early reader. 5-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-338-03472-1

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Branches/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016

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