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COLORS VERSUS SHAPES

Name: COLORS VERSUS SHAPES
Author: Mike Boldt
ISBN: 978-0-06-210303-1

by Mike Boldt ; illustrated by Mike Boldt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 26, 2014

Not nearly as much fun as the showdown between letters and numbers.

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Boldt (123 versus ABC, 2013) continues to mix things up; this time, colors and shapes audition to be the stars of a book.

Team 1 consists of colors—blobs with arms, legs and faces. They are invited to take the stage first, but they’re interrupted by Team 2—white anthropomorphized shapes with big attitudes: “Clearly we’re going to win this contest….So you may as well just skip those fellas.” Well, them’s fightin’ words. The colors begin to show off, mixing primaries to make secondaries (blue and yellow combine, and green is the result—but all three still exist separately, which may puzzle readers). Meanwhile, two triangles make a square, the only combination; from there, they simply add angles and sides. The yelling escalates until red and octagon accidently collide. Cooperation leads to a colorful, wordless spread that showcases colorful objects built from basic shapes, though not all of them are easily individuated (the three sections of an apple-tree trunk, for instance); Stella Blackstone’s Ship Shapes (2006) did a much better job with regard to combining shapes into scenes. In the end, the judges (the stars of 123 versus ABC) give colors a 10 and shapes an A+, and obviously, they are both the stars of this book. Boldt’s digital illustrations are just as colorful and zany as those in his previous book, but readers may have some trouble following the numerous, crowded speech bubbles.

Not nearly as much fun as the showdown between letters and numbers. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-06-210303-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: June 9, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
CANTALOUPE AND HONEYDO TAKE THE BUS
by Mike Boldt ; illustrated by Mike Boldt

- BOOK REVIEW
ELMORE AND THE BIG CHRISTMAS RESCUE
by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Mike Boldt

- BOOK REVIEW
DON'T LOSE MR. CUDDLES
by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Mike Boldt

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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
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- 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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MANGO, ABUELA, AND ME

by Meg Medina ; illustrated by Angela Dominguez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 25, 2015

This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez,...

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Abuela is coming to stay with Mia and her parents. But how will they communicate if Mia speaks little Spanish and Abuela, little English? Could it be that a parrot named Mango is the solution?

The measured, evocative text describes how Mia’s español is not good enough to tell Abuela the things a grandmother should know. And Abuela’s English is too poquito to tell Mia all the stories a granddaughter wants to hear. Mia sets out to teach her Abuela English. A red feather Abuela has brought with her to remind her of a wild parrot that roosted in her mango trees back home gives Mia an idea. She and her mother buy a parrot they name Mango. And as Abuela and Mia teach Mango, and each other, to speak both Spanish and English, their “mouths [fill] with things to say.” The accompanying illustrations are charmingly executed in ink, gouache, and marker, “with a sprinkling of digital magic.” They depict a cheery urban neighborhood and a comfortable, small apartment. Readers from multigenerational immigrant families will recognize the all-too-familiar language barrier. They will also cheer for the warm and loving relationship between Abuela and Mia, which is evident in both text and illustrations even as the characters struggle to understand each other. A Spanish-language edition, Mango, Abuela, y yo, gracefully translated by Teresa Mlawer, publishes simultaneously.

This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez, an honoree. (Picture book. 4-7)