The bugs’ world may distract readers from the tale’s didacticism, but the ones who need this message most are unlikely to...
Charlotte loves school, learning, and being with her friends, but combining the three doesn’t work for anyone.
A whispering Charlotte and her friend miss Miss Flora’s announcement about “show-and-share” and bring nothing special the next day. Etta can’t finish her book when Charlotte’s talking to her, and Max is in a similar boat with his math worksheet. Lily, Ben, and Charlotte all feel hungry after they talk right through lunchtime. The next day, Charlotte’s classmates shush her and insist on listening and learning. Miss Flora points out that the things Charlotte loves about school are things her friends love too, but they can’t enjoy them for all the butterfly’s chatter. This aha moment sparks a change. Cardoso’s illustrations depict the characters as anthropomorphized insects. Charlotte has deep purple skin and purple puffball pigtails on top of her head. While most of the bugs have skin tones that match their natural colorations, some have pale or brown coloring and hair in a range of human shades. The fact that most of the insects’ mouths are perpetually wide open is rather distracting—kids may wonder how they can listen and talk at the same time. Also unfortunate is the fact that the darkest-skinned child, who is also the one with Afro-styled hair, is represented as the problem.
The bugs’ world may distract readers from the tale’s didacticism, but the ones who need this message most are unlikely to learn it here; they’re busy talking. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5158-1697-3
Page Count: 33
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
Sure to have little ones giggling.
Jacques is a hedgehog with a big secret: “I wear real, bona fide underwear.”
Our narrator received a mysterious package one day; an illustration shows a pair of underwear tied to a balloon with a note “from the Universe” floating down into Jacques’ burrow. Hedgehogs don’t wear underwear, however. Will Jacques be shunned? Jacques worries but comes to a decision: “I have to wear them. When I do I feel special.” Determined, Jacques, who’s been invited to a party, makes a dramatic entrance, with undies in hand. Jacques’ declaration (“I WEAR UNDERWEAR”) is met with remarks of dismay, before another hedgehog opens up about similar fears and shows off a pair of cowboy boots. More hedgehogs introduce themselves with their own confessions. The story ends with Jacques unveiling a painting of the underwear in a gallery filled with hedgehogs wearing all sorts of attire. Though the book is simple in plot, characters, and setting, it wins in its balance of bathroom humor, dramatic storytelling, and celebrations of individual expression. French words are peppered throughout, adding to the fun without detracting from the story for those unfamiliar with the language. The cartoonish illustrations brim with fun; Valdez relies heavily on geometric shapes (triangle noses for the hedgehogs; huge circles for their eyes). Details such as speech bubbles and recurring turtle and snake characters contribute to the outlandish humor.
Sure to have little ones giggling. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781250814388
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
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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
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BOOK REVIEW
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