An accessible tale that makes clear that anyone—even the four-legged—can be an artist.
A young artist and his dog learn to create together.
Cam makes paintings, drawings, and small buildings that his dad proudly displays, but when Art arrives, the rambunctious dog shakes things up. He leaves paw prints all over Cam’s paintings, knocks the boy’s buildings down, and, worst of all, makes “his own buildings”—stinky messes that resemble chocolate kisses emanating steamy fumes. Cam and his dad are quite upset until the resourceful boy devises a plan to redirect Art’s passion. He moves the art studio outdoors, dips the dog’s paws and his own feet in “safe paint,” and creates art that Dad is happy to hang on the wall. Art now understands the process of art making. “He fetched the blocks. Cam stacked them high.” Cam doesn’t even mind when Art continues to follow his instincts and makes “his own building”: “It was okay. This time he was outside.” The flattened cartoon illustrations emphasize the boy’s art; kids will laugh at the scatological humor. Emphasizing short a sounds, this easy reader features concise and straightforward text and a simple story. Brown-skinned, dark-haired Cam and his father have a loving relationship, and budding artists will appreciate that Cam finds creative solutions that allow his canine pal to explore his artistic side.
An accessible tale that makes clear that anyone—even the four-legged—can be an artist. (Early reader. 4-7)Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781223188928
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Paw Prints Publishing/Baker & Taylor
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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