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WILHELM'S JOURNEY

Name: WILHELM'S JOURNEY
Author: Anke Bär
ISBN: 978-0-7358-4352-3

by Anke Bär ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2019

This lively, informative peek at life aboard a 19th-century emigrant sailing ship ably complements other titles on...

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A German teen describes his 1872 journey to America on the sailing ship Columbia.

Growing up poor on a farm in Germany, Wilhelm attends woodcarving school, where he learns to draw, sculpt, read, and write. Hearing about free farmland in America, he eagerly joins an expedition of emigrants from neighboring villages and travels by foot and train to Bremerhaven, where he boards the Columbia and finds a bunk in steerage for the crossing to New York City, which takes over four weeks. Presented in the format of an illustrated diary, Wilhelm’s record of his experiences includes the nitty-gritty of seasickness, bedbugs, bucket lavatories, and hardtack as well as the games children play, a storm at sea, essential navigation tools, animals and birds encountered, nautical knots, and the life of the ship’s crew. This fictional account offers the immediacy and realism of a first-person narration enlivened by spontaneous-feeling, quick sketches of passengers and crew. Sidebars and appended notes expand Wilhelm’s story with fascinating historical facts pertinent to life on an emigrant ship and American immigration, including a map of the Columbia’s route and a cross-section of the ship.

This lively, informative peek at life aboard a 19th-century emigrant sailing ship ably complements other titles on immigration. (timeline, list of museums) (Historical fiction. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-7358-4352-3

Page Count: 72

Publisher: NorthSouth

Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

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FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)