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GET OFF THAT CAMEL!

Name: GET OFF THAT CAMEL!
Author: A.H. Benjamin
ISBN: 978-81-9390-331-5

by A.H. Benjamin ; illustrated by Krishna Bala Shenoi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019

This Indian import is a gentle exploration of childhood fantasy.

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Even as an infant, Meena loved her toy camel and “never slept without it.” So when her parents get her a real camel, she rides it everywhere—even if others are inconvenienced.

She ignores repeated cries of “Get off that camel!” at school, shops, the pool, and the movies until the doctor notices the camel’s state of exhaustion and Meena compassionately agrees to keep her pet at a stable. Soon after, her parents bring a new baby brother home, and Meena happily shares her toy camel—which he loves, “never [sleeping] without it,” much to their parents’ evident dismay. With its spare narrative, this story will appeal to imaginative children, who will find humor in the outlandish situations Meena and her camel find themselves in. In a storytime setting, young listeners will likely join in on the titular refrain, “Get off that camel!” The detail-rich illustrations, providing a fanciful window into everyday life in India, encourage repeated browsing. In one amusing double-page spread, the camel farts calmly at disgusted, uniform-clad students while their teacher, who wears a sari, stands at the blackboard, aghast at the disruption. Its progress through the supermarket is viewed from above, giving readers a look at shelves knocked askew and products littering the floor in its wake. Two pages of “fun facts” about camels are included, providing information for curious readers.

This Indian import is a gentle exploration of childhood fantasy. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-81-9390-331-5

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Karadi Tales

Review Posted Online: June 9, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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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)