by Alison Friend ; illustrated by Alison Friend ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 5, 2015
This playful, lighthearted lesson about peacekeeping and place-keeping serves as the introduction of Friend’s Freddy &...
Fox kit Freddy and little mouse Frito’s imaginative play dates are hampered by the rules of their respective homes, so why don’t these two friends build a big clubhouse all their own?
One day, when both Frito’s and Freddy’s homes are unavailable for play, they schedule a meet-up at the local park to search for a place of their own: “A place with no rules!” they agree. Settling on an inviting tree, the two friends get started on a clubhouse, building with borrowed items from home. They soon find homemaking is no easy task and friendship is not without conflict, but their small spat is quickly resolved. They build bigger and announce a clubhouse-warming party, inviting their families to join in on the “No rules!” clubhouse fun. Horrified by the resultant rule-free chaos, they devise a clever scheme, brewing a foul clubhouse stew in order to drive off the guests and restore peace to their new home away from home. Lively illustrations and varied layouts add to the appeal of this story, which features descriptive language well-suited for emerging readers to grow their vocabularies.
This playful, lighthearted lesson about peacekeeping and place-keeping serves as the introduction of Friend’s Freddy & Frito, and readers will look forward to their further adventures. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-228580-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2015
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by Kwame Alexander & illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2011
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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by Kwame Alexander & Deanna Nikaido ; illustrated by Melissa Sweet
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by Kwame Alexander ; illustrated by Dare Coulter
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by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2014
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
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by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
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