The Pets to the Rescue easy reader series presents true stories of animals that have saved lives, providing a dose of realistic drama along with controlled vocabulary and short sentences. Clements (The School Story, p. 582, etc.) relates the story of a woman named Carol who helps feed a feral cat at a nursing home and eventually adopts one of the cat’s kittens. Carol and her husband already have three adult cats, but they add the orange kitten to their family and name him Ringo because he uses his paw to hit at a door like a drum. After Ringo grows up, Carol and Ray (and the other cats) all mysteriously fall sick, with everyone sleeping too much. Ringo beats on the front door until Carol follows him outside, where he digs in the ground near the house and uncovers a broken gas pipe that has been leaking into the house. Ringo subsequently achieves his 15 minutes of fame. Young animal-lovers will enjoy Ringo’s dramatic story, complemented by Beier’s (Sybil Ludington’s Midnight Ride, not reviewed, etc.) watercolor illustrations of a cozy country setting and an appealing marmalade-colored cat. This easy reader’s design features two or three sentences per page with varied text placement, a large type-size, and much white space, creating a satisfying reader at the first-grade level with a built-in safety lesson as well. (Easy reader. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-82915-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2001
This latest Froggy title (Froggy Goes to School, 1996, etc.) is utterly unfocused, with the star careening from soccer dolt to Mr. Superkick. Froggy’s team has a big game coming up with the Wild Things, and he is trying to remember the mantra his father, and assistant coach, taught him: “Head it! Boot it! Knee it! Shoot it! But don’t use your hands!” But illegally touching the ball seems to be the least of Froggy’s worries; distraction is his problem. He is so busy turning cartwheels, tying his shoes, and more, that the only time he makes contact with the ball is when it bounces off his head by mistake. Then, when the Wild Things make a breakaway, Froggy has some dazzling moves to avert a score, but forgetfully grabs the ball at the last second. The other team gets a penalty kick, converts it, but then Froggy makes a field-long kick for a game-winning score. London forces Froggy into too many guises—the fool, the hero, the klutz, the fancy dancer—but none of them stick. Remkiewicz’s illustrations have charm; it is in their appeal that this book will find its audience. (Picture book. 2-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-670-88257-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Everything that readers have come to love about the Elephant & Piggie books is present—masterful pacing, easy-to-follow,...
Can Gerald and Piggie’s friendship withstand the friendly overtures of Brian Bat?
When Snake informs Gerald that Piggie is playing with Brian Bat, he is at first complacent. Brian is “nice,” he observes; Snake concurs—after all, he says, “Brian is my Best Friend!” Their mutual reflection that Piggie and Brian “must be having a super-duper fun time!” turns, however, to paranoia when they realize that if their best pals “are having that much fun together, then… / …maybe they do not need us” (that last is printed in teeny-tiny, utterly demoralized type). Gerald and Snake dash/slither to put an end to the fun. Their fears are confirmed when the two new buddies tell them they have “been playing BEST FRIEND GAMES!”—which, it turns out, means making drawings of their respective best friends, Gerald and Snake. Awww. While the buildup to the friends’ confrontation is characteristically funny, there’s a certain feeling of anticlimax to the story’s resolution. How many young children, when playing with a new friend, are likely to spend their time thinking of the friends that they are not playing with? This is unfortunate, as the emotions that Gerald and Snake experience are realistic and profound, deserving of more than a platitudinous, unrealistic response.
Everything that readers have come to love about the Elephant & Piggie books is present—masterful pacing, easy-to-follow, color-coded speech bubbles, hilarious body language—except an emotionally satisfying ending. (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: June 3, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-7958-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2014
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