Capucilli’s (Bathtime for Biscuit, not reviewed) frolicsome puppy romps through another adventure in this latest entry in the My First I Can Read Book series. Biscuit’s owner attempts to teach the energetic pup how to fetch a ball. Instead, Biscuit rolls over, retrieves a bone, and chases the cat before finally returning with the ball. Capucilli skillfully relates a lively tale using simple language. The humorous antics of the pup will hold beginning readers’ interest while brief, simple sentences and repetition of words allows them to master the tale on their own. Story and artwork are in perfect harmony. Schories’s bright illustrations capture the impetuous spirit of the frisky canine and offer visual clues to support the words. The combination of engaging text and vivacious pictures provides encouragement for reluctant readers. This continuation of the lovable puppy’s capers is a real treat and will have audiences clamoring for more. (Easy reader. 4-6)
Pub Date: April 30, 2000
ISBN: 0-06-028067-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Rich, attractive mixed-media illustrations can’t make this narrow, problematic theme into a real story. “My name is Lyra and I am an African princess,” it begins; because Lyra lives in an apartment building and has freckles, though, she worries it may be untrue until visiting a relative restores her confidence. Lyra’s told that a long time ago, “a princess was captured from Africa and taken to the Caribbean to live”; the extended family descended from this event “has spread far from Africa to every shore” and is now part of Lyra’s family tree. Trying to address real history/genealogy, Edmonds slips into romanticization by overemphasizing the princess notion. The harshness of the history is never mentioned beyond the word “captured,” and the African princess label, repeated incessantly but never defined, is too thin to hold up the story. Of value, though, is the wonderfully natural portrayal of Lyra’s interracial family. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-7636-2595-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2004
There’s a touch of In the Night Kitchen to this dreamlike, comforting episode. One night, the Moon falls quietly to Earth on urban Milk Street—but hardly have the pieces settled than squads of rescuers, mostly of the uniformed variety, converge to reassemble it, and lift it carefully back into place. Gralley crowds her city with buildings that resemble kitchenware or food containers, and populates it with industrious groups of rumple-haired, Sendak-like children dressed as firefighters, police officers, and medical workers. She prefaces her brief, rhymed text (several spreads are wordless) with advice that Mister Rogers attributed to his mother, to look for helpers when confronted by a traffic accident or other scary scene, and closes with a goodnight wish to “helpers everywhere.” A gentle, heartfelt tribute to those who work together in emergencies. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-8050-7266-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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