Rowdy and infectious: Fetch tape and crayons.
With boundless energy and bouncing rhyme, a boy shows readers his handmade book—this book—about his burgeoning independence.
From making his own lunch and getting his own drink (milk spills down the page), to bathing in the sink and fixing toys with a lake of glue, this boy’s on a hilarious tear. Self-portraits race across the spreads, outlined in bold, black crayon. The boy’s head and ears evoke Charlie Brown. He’s always in motion, and every supply in the house seems to have been commandeered for this project. The multilayered, multimedia collage makes things look real enough to touch (and readers will try): pencils and Popsicle sticks, Legos and paper towels, circular confetti from a hole punch, construction paper and shiny paper and graph paper—and appearing most touchable of all, liberal amounts of cellophane tape, masking tape, duct tape and stickers. Bits of photo stand out amid the childlike art—the spray attachment on a faucet and the boy’s teeth while he’s brushing them (though not the rest of his face). “I can brush my own teeth. / I can pick out my clothes. // This sweater was perfect!!! / For wiping my nose.” A drop of snot (plenty big enough to be seen from a distance) and the underwear on his head will be popular.
Rowdy and infectious: Fetch tape and crayons. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 25, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59643-675-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Neal Porter/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Pedestrian.
Mr. Brown can’t help with farm chores because his shoes are missing—a common occurrence in his household and likely in many readers’ as well.
Children will be delighted that the titular Mr. Brown is in fact a child. After Mr. Brown looks in his closet and sorts through his other family members’ shoes with no luck, his father and his siblings help him search the farm. Eventually—after colorful pages that enable readers to spot footwear hiding—the family gives up on their hunt, and Mr. Brown asks to be carried around for the chores. He rides on his father’s shoulders as Papa gets his work done, as seen on a double-page spread of vignettes. The resolution is more of a lesson for the adult readers than for children, a saccharine moment where father and son express their joy that the missing shoes gave them the opportunity for togetherness—with advice for other parents to appreciate those fleeting moments themselves. Though the art is bright and cheerful, taking advantage of the setting, it occasionally is misaligned with the text (for example, the text states that Mr. Brown is wearing his favorite green shirt while the illustration is of a shirt with wide stripes of white and teal blue, which could confuse readers at the point where they’re trying to figure out which family member is Mr. Brown). The family is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Pedestrian. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5460-0389-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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