Whoo needs friends? Tips from this owl protagonist may help children learn how to make them.
Even a wise owl has plenty to learn.
Merlin the owl searches for potential friends in the woods. Attempting to join several flocks of birds, i.e., butting into their conversations without invitation, the owl brags brazenly (“I tell the best stories!”). The others don’t give a hoot and fly away. Alone, Merlin proclaims, “I DON’T NEED FRIENDS!” and tries to make a case for why friends are a drawback: They’re noisy, Merlin dislikes sharing, and flying alone affords “true freedom.” Of course, friends do provide comfort in a rainstorm…and rain brings out “juicy worms.” Said worms set the stage for a friendship story in which Merlin discovers that niceties such as helping, offering compliments, taking an interest in others, and even telling a joke can help forge bonds with others. This cute, gently humorous tale’s ending feels rushed and doesn’t add anything new to the crowded field of making-friends stories. However, it will arouse empathy and is worth sharing with youngsters spreading their own wings and feeling uncertain about developing social relationships. The guide to making friends at the end of the book will reassure children as well. The illustrations, rendered in ink, colored pencil, and digital collage, are bright, lively, and expressive; Merlin is a feisty character. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Whoo needs friends? Tips from this owl protagonist may help children learn how to make them. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9781984813695
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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