A fine feline friendship tale for storytime
Catty characters learn to play nice.
Two anthropomorphic cats, Bella and Anna, play together, with the former looking up to the latter and copying her every move. It’s all fun and games until they play princesses and there’s only one crown. Anna selfishly seizes it, yelling at Bella: “Stop copying me! I’m the princess. And it’s my crown!” Poor Bella is bereft when Anna flounces off, but she quickly recovers when she finds a jump-rope. Then a new cat, Chloe, comes along, and Bella says “Just copy me!” to invite her to learn how to skip rope, too. Bella’s generosity and friendliness later extend to the crowned Anna, who soon tires of playing princess by herself and joins them in jumping rope. “Just copy us!” Bella and Chloe say, and the three cats jump rope together. When Chloe has the bright idea to tie their separate ropes together, the feline friends’ play becomes truly collaborative, setting the stage for engagement in many different activities on ensuing spreads. A concluding introduction of a new friend, daredevil Dotty on a skateboard, suggests that there’s much more fun in store for all. Throughout, Pye’s digital illustrations add to the playful tone of the book, with bold colors and shapes defining the big-eyed cats and giving a retro feel to the flat visual aesthetic.
A fine feline friendship tale for storytime . (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 22, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9935-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A disappointing follow-up.
Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).
While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.
A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68263-164-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their...
Ruby is an adventurous and happy child until the day she discovers a Worry.
Ruby barely sees the Worry—depicted as a blob of yellow with a frowny unibrow—at first, but as it hovers, the more she notices it and the larger it grows. The longer Ruby is affected by this Worry, the fewer colors appear on the page. Though she tries not to pay attention to the Worry, which no one else can see, ignoring it prevents her from enjoying the things that she once loved. Her constant anxiety about the Worry causes the bright yellow blob to crowd Ruby’s everyday life, which by this point is nearly all washes of gray and white. But at the playground, Ruby sees a boy sitting on a bench with a growing sky-blue Worry of his own. When she invites the boy to talk, his Worry begins to shrink—and when Ruby talks about her own Worry, it also grows smaller. By the book’s conclusion, Ruby learns to control her Worry by talking about what worries her, a priceless lesson for any child—or adult—conveyed in a beautifully child-friendly manner. Ruby presents black, with hair in cornrows and two big afro-puff pigtails, while the boy has pale skin and spiky black hair.
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their feelings (. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0237-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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