MONSTERS LOVE SCHOOL

Name: MONSTERS LOVE SCHOOL
Author: Mike Austin
ISBN: 978-0-06-228618-5

by Mike Austin ; illustrated by Mike Austin ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 24, 2014

Though most readers would probably rather not face a Cyclops principal, hopefully they will have as good a first day as Blue...

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Austin’s scribbly, lovable monsters are back, this time going beyond an exploration of colors (Monsters Love Colors, 2013) to tackle the biggest adventure of all—Monster School.

Yellow, pink, green, blue, long-legged, many-legged, one-eyed, two-eyed, scaly and furry monsters’ summer fun has come to an end, and they must check their school-supply lists and head off. Not all are smiling, though, as they cross the street with Miss Wiggles’ help: “Wiggle, wiggle, cross the street. / Off to school, now move those feet!” Little Gray tries to alleviate Blue’s fears, but there are many of them, and he is convinced he already knows his “ABGs and 413s and XYDs,” so who needs school? But after a day filled with art, recess, Miss Spel’s spelling lessons, Chef Octi’s lunchtime gruel, history, library and Singing Club, Blue has changed his tune. Austin has masterfully folded some valuable information about the first day of school into his funny tale, but the monsters are the big draw. Not the least bit scary, their simple shapes and accessories and scrawled style will likely have kids reaching for their own “monster pencils, monster crayons, monster ink and brushes”—as Austin claims to have used in his media statement.

Though most readers would probably rather not face a Cyclops principal, hopefully they will have as good a first day as Blue and come to love school. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: June 24, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-06-228618-5

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 13, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S PARANORMAL & SUPERNATURAL

- BOOK REVIEW
SUMMER SUPPER
by Rubin Pfeffer ; illustrated by Mike Austin

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HENNY, PENNY, LENNY, DENNY, AND MIKE
by Cynthia Rylant ; illustrated by Mike Austin

- BOOK REVIEW
RESCUE SQUAD NO. 9
by Mike Austin ; illustrated by Mike Austin

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

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...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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A BIKE LIKE SERGIO'S

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...

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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)