by Harriet Ziefert ; illustrated by Josée Masse ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 9, 2014
The prolific Ziefert has provided a game that everyone can play.
Wordplay forms the basis for an intriguing guessing game as trios of similar things are followed by something different.
For very young readers and listeners who enjoy naming objects in pictures, this offers an interesting further step that will also challenge older brothers and sisters. Panda bears, brown bears and polar bears are all bears. “What bear is NOT a bear?” Turn the page to see a woolly bear caterpillar. Each pair of pages includes a similar question and answer as well as dictionary-style definitions of the puzzle words and answer. Just as the pattern begins to seem repetitious, there is a variation, just a question followed by the answer on a double-page spread. And so forth. The final, title spread is predictable: children demonstrating friendship. While some sets are easy, others may surprise even adults. “A hi-hat [cymbal] is NOT a hat!” Further puzzles are offered in a two-page conclusion; answers will be found on the publisher's website. Warning! This could become addictive. Masse’s stylized paintings include recognizable objects, a diverse collection of children and some appealing details (note the snowman outside the cutaway house and the cat on the bookcase).
The prolific Ziefert has provided a game that everyone can play. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-60905-447-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Blue Apple
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Noah Z. Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 2016
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...
Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.
This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6649-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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