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
As the narrator knows (the rest of the world has been misinformed), teachers don't go home after school, but spend their lives sleeping in the classroom, roaming the corridors, and taking meals in the lunchroom. So the narrator is justifiably confused when Miss Malarkey moves into his apartment building. Newcomer Finchler never swerves from her basic premise that kids are always right. The boy's logic is sacrosanct: From the mystery of the Teachers' Lounge he extrapolates a room where naughty, pajama-clad teachers litter the floors and frolic on disheveled bunk beds. Older children may be too full of information to the contrary to enjoy the idea; for younger readers it should hit home. Occasionally Finchler changes her matter-of-fact tone and winks at readers, which breaks the spell. On the whole, though, the spare language and bright, expressive pictures make it a rewarding read. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 4, 1995
ISBN: 0-8027-8386-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Flora, the class biter, is shocked out of her habit when she sinks her teeth into a plush monkey's arm, and it rips off. The text is short, wooden, and more or less unnecessary, as Mu§oz's simple watercolors tell the whole tale. Flora creates a tearful scene in the background when her father drops her off at school, she's shunned by her classmates and walks about wearing a homemade crocodile mask as she searches for new victims. Once the mask falls off to signal her dismay, she is quickly accepted. The illustrations are appealing and provide visual subtext, too, as the unnamed young narrator's skin, though varying slightly from page to page, is plainly darker than her blond mother's. Shipton (Busy! Busy! Busy!, 1991) leaves readers with a simplistic (not to mention inhumane), cut-and-dried solution that is unlikely to make an impression (so to speak) on either the biters or the bittenstick with Barbara Bottner's toothier Bootsie Barker Bites (1992). (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-307-17521-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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