by Judith Caseley & illustrated by Judith Caseley ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 30, 2001
Returning to the characters from Field Day Friday (2000), Caseley offers some sensible advice about handling a bully. Mickey and Jack used to be friends, but Jack has taken to bullying of late. He crunches Mickey's fingers on the jungle gym and says, "Ask me if I care." He grabs Mickey's cookies at lunch and then laughs in his face. Mickey’s father counsels him to stand tall and use brave words like "I don't like that!" But Jack is a shade too big and more than a shade too belligerent for that tack. His mother suggests that Mickey try being nice to Jack, calling to Mickey's attention that Jack's mother just had a baby. "When you were born, your sister didn't like it. She wheeled you down the street and tried to give you to a neighbor." That helps Mickey put some perspective on the situation and though Jack continues his wanton attacks, Mickey tries some kindness. It does the trick, that and coming to Jack's side when others tease him over his new set of braces. More often than not bullies are way too menacing to pull the confrontational tactics recommended by Mickey's father, so ladling on the kindness is a better idea. Perhaps best of all is the simple notion of talking with your parents about the problem, halving the trouble right there. Caseley's flat, vaguely primitive art seems simple at first, but it is filled with the details of ordinary life at home and school and lends just the right air of authenticity to the story. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: April 30, 2001
ISBN: 0-688-17867-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2001
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by Judith Caseley , illustrated by Judith Caseley
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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 Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings
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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Chloe Dominique ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024
Pleasant enough but not particularly original.
Uplifting messages of positivity from the Today show anchor.
Hope springs eternal, so the saying goes. Kotb agrees, here delivering to children the cheery news that hope lives inside all of them and that whatever they might wish for can be theirs. All they need is a sunny outlook, and the possibilities for happy outcomes are virtually endless. Children’s dreams can be in-the-moment ones—like purple ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry—or more far-ranging ones, such as growing tall enough to reach that high shelf easily or for hair that’s long enough to braid. It doesn’t matter, the author reassures young readers. Your aspirations will be realized, so don’t give up on them—just keep believing in them and, most of all, in yourself. Throughout, Kotb calls hope a rainbow, a feeling, a gift, and a wish. Hope is “new friends you’ll find— / friends who are loving and funny and kind.” Hope is “practicing your heart out, letter by letter.” The book’s overarching theme is upbeat, but its bouncy rhyming text is clumsy. The child-appealing illustrations are colorful and lively, though they have a generic look. The cast of wide-eyed characters is racially diverse; some have visible disabilities.
Pleasant enough but not particularly original. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624128
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flamingo Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
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by Hoda Kotb ; illustrated by Suzie Mason
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