by Beck Stanton & Matt Stanton ; illustrated by Beck Stanton & Matt Stanton ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 23, 2017
_ravo! (Picture book. 3-7)
A metafictive picture _ook with playful typography to _oot.
The opening text directly addresses readers, listing some of the narrator’s favorite things without ever visually depicting said narrator. In fact, there are no pictures at all in the first few double-page spreads, only text. The first page reads, in part: “I have favorite things. They are bats and beaches and bread and bushes and bulldozers.” On the next page readers are invited to say “bubububub…bobobobob…brrrrrrrrr.” The final statement indicates a chill in the air, and the narrator sneezes in the next spread with a swirling “Aaaaacchhhoooooo!!!!” across the pages. This instigates the titular premise: the sneeze apparently does away with all b’s, and the text is written accordingly while accompanying pictures depict the b-free objects. “I love my _ed,” reads the text next to a line drawing of a bed, for example. After several such spreads accompanied by pictures that cumulatively add the b-free things together in a silly scene of a _eetle, _utterfly, and a couple _ulls jumping on the _ed, the narrator implores readers to call for the letter b to “come _ack!” And back it comes for a celebratory ending. Throughout, bold, graphic typography provides cues for tone in reading aloud, while the simple digital illustrations add to ample metafictive humor.
_ravo! (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: May 23, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-43441-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
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by Beck Stanton & Matt Stanton ; illustrated by Beck Stanton & Matt Stanton
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by Kobi Yamada ; illustrated by Natalie Russell ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2017
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
Awards & Accolades
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Google Rating
New York Times Bestseller
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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by Chloe Perkins ; illustrated by Sandra Equihua ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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adapted by Hannah Eliot ; illustrated by Nivea Ortiz
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