Adorable fun for chapter-book newbies looking for a few giggles.
In this series debut, a boy learns that when it comes to friends, quality is more important than quantity.
Warren Reginald Nesbitt is moving and will be starting second grade at a new school. The 7-year-old is lucky he has his pet, Dragon, a plush toy who’s real only to him, to help him adjust. Then his outgoing twin sister, Ellie, dares him to make 100 friends before she does. Shy Warren accepts the challenge: “I’m going to make more new friends than you.” But inside, he thinks, in his endearingly honest first-person narration, “I do not say I might not believe what I just said.” Marshmallow-loving Dragon offers Warren friend-making advice: Give a compliment. “You do not smell like rotten pumpkins,” Warren says to classmate Alison. Making new friends may take a while, but it will be worth it. In Book 2, Weekend with Chewy, Warren takes the class hamster home for two days. In addition to performing general pet care, Warren must write a report and keep Chewy safe from mischievous Dragon’s boundless appetite. How will he find the time to build a secret snack-smuggling ramp with his friend Michael? In both the black-and-white artwork and, notably, the text, Warren, his family, and Alison are white; Michael’s two-mom family is black.
Adorable fun for chapter-book newbies looking for a few giggles. (Fiction. 5-9)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-425-28844-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2018
Charming and thought-provoking proof that we all contain multitudes.
Oscar winner McConaughey offers intriguing life observations.
The series of pithy, wry comments, each starting with the phrase “Just because,” makes clear that each of us is a mass of contradictions: “Just because we’re friends, / doesn’t mean you can’t burn me. / Just because I’m stubborn, / doesn’t mean that you can’t turn me.” Witty, digitally rendered vignettes portray youngsters diverse in terms of race and ability (occasionally with pets looking on) dealing with everything from friendship drama to a nerve-wracking footrace. “Just because I’m dirty, / doesn’t mean I can’t get clean” is paired with an image of a youngster taking a bath while another character (possibly an older sibling) sits nearby, smiling. “Just because you’re nice, / doesn’t mean you can’t get mean” depicts the older one berating the younger one for tracking mud into the house. The artwork effectively brings to life the succinct, rhyming text and will help readers make sense of it. Perhaps, after studying the illustrations and gaining further insight into the comments, kids will reread and reflect upon them further. The final page unites the characters from earlier pages with a reassuring message for readers: “Just because the sun has set, / doesn’t mean it will not rise. / Because every day is a gift, / each one a new surprise. BELIEVE IT.” As a follow-up, readers should be encouraged to make their own suggestions to complete the titular phrase. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Charming and thought-provoking proof that we all contain multitudes. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9780593622032
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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