Saltzberg conveys the pleasing goofiness of special days at school when students can let their hair down—Pajama Day, Sixties Day, or best of all: Crazy Hair Day. Only Stanley Birdbaum—who, along with his schoolmates, looks like a reclining acorn perched atop a roly-poly body—gets the day wrong. It’s Picture Day, not Crazy Hair Day. Mortified, he takes up residence in the school bathroom. His friend gently coaxes him back to the room to take his place in the class picture: “Remember Sixties Day, when Mr. Winger had the flu but came in anyway? He said the day wouldn’t be the same if we weren’t all together.” There he finds his mates ready for the photographer with all manner of strange adornments on their heads: wastepaper baskets, piles of crayons, a stack of books; Mr. Winger is wearing a globe. “This is going to be a day I never forget,” Stanley had said when he left home that morning with his rainbow thatch. Right you are, Stanley. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-7636-1954-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2003
On the first day of school, this primary-grade teacher encourages her students to share their hopes for the coming year. In one- or two-page spreads, the wishes unfold: for the best seat on the bus, a chocolate fountain at lunch, to kick the ball into the right goal, not to be a vegetable in the school play. The quotidian-but-nevertheless-marvelous (“at least one snow day”) mixes with the slightly ridiculous (“We’ll have Skateboard Day”) to provide a kid-level survey of anticipated fun. Andriani’s line-and-watercolor cartoons likewise mix the fanciful (one little boy brings his giant purple boa constrictor for show-and-tell) and the realistic (two girls jump double Dutch as one of them imagines making friends in her new school). A catalog more than a story, this agreeable book could act as a fruitful springboard for class brainstorming. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-525-42275-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Brett's (Christmas Trolls, 1993, etc.) embellishment of the familiar tale is clever: Each mouse here has a wife, and, like many contemporary couples, these two decide to exchange homes for a while. What follows, in alternating country and city scenes, is the result of their naãvetÇ concerning their new environments, including both humorous misconceptions (`` `Is the bathtub leaking?' `No, we're in the country now,' he said. `Those are raindrops' '') and narrow escapes (a cat lurks in side panels in the town scenes, an owl in the country). Brett's narrative is amusing, but best here are her meticulous illustrations of the appealing creatures and their exquisitely imagined world, with the town's delicately patterned crockery and lavish larder rivaling the country's elegantly limned wildlife for interest. A strong entry from a popular artist. (Folklore/Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1994
ISBN: 0-399-22622-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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