Attractive, slyly humorous illustrations, simple text and a related craft included at the end all serve to make this a...
In his fourth outing for emergent readers, Boris, a warthog, shares a camping misadventure with his two friends, Frederick and Alice.
Boris’ parents help the trio set up in the backyard for their night of camping. The first several pages all feature bits of brief text—“Dad helped them light a campfire”—that sharply and humorously contrast with the cartoon illustrations, as, for example, Dad tries and tries but can’t quite get the fire started. Eventually, Mom and Dad go off to bed, leaving the brave campers to gradually become frightened of the breezy night. One after another, they head out, the first looking for a safer spot and the other two searching for their missing friend. Reunited, hiding under a shrub, they notice a bright—and very scary—light beyond the fence. (It turns out to be a neighbor trying out his new putter while wearing a caving helmet.) In a predictable conclusion, the children finally opt to sleep indoors. Like others in this series, this brief effort has the shape of an early chapter book but the content of a very early reader, giving children a welcome sense of accomplishment as they breeze through it.
Attractive, slyly humorous illustrations, simple text and a related craft included at the end all serve to make this a welcome addition to collections for beginning readers. (Early reader. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-48454-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.
Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.
Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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