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SNARKY SHARKY

Name: SNARKY SHARKY
Author: Bethan Clarke
ISBN: 9781664300644

by Bethan Clarke ; illustrated by Nikolas Ilic ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 18, 2025

Brutally punny text enlivened by goofy illustrations.

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A snide shark with an arrogant attitude disses the fishes.

Snarky Sharky has nothing but scorn for the other sea dwellers: the octopuses, who “literally suck,” the sea stars, who are “always missing the point,” and the irritatingly cheerful dolphins (“It’s like they do it on porpoise to annoy me”). When a clown fish tries to be BFF (“Best Fishies Forever”), Snarky jeers: “I’m on a sea food diet. And all I see right now…is you.” Snarky gobbles up the little fish only to spit it out: A clown fish naturally tastes “funny.” Concluding that “this reef is beneath me,” Snarky makes an “o-fish-al” exit, accompanied by cries of “Carpe diem” and “Seas the day” from the other wildlife. Smugly proclaiming, “I’m kind of a big deal,” Snarky’s overshadowed by a much larger maw in search of a “big meal.” Snarky’s last word? “Gulp.” Snarky’s small golden eyes are topped with fierce-looking eyebrows, but it’s the shark’s rows of seemingly endless pointed teeth in a sneering mouth that dominate. The reef inhabitants are candy colored and cartoonishly animated. The barrage of nonstop puns will have many older readers groaning, though they may go over some kids’ heads; at times, the tale feels a bit one-note. Still, younger audiences will appreciate the visual details and the exaggerated images. A few hints on the endpapers suggest that the huge final beast might be a megalodon.

Brutally punny text enlivened by goofy illustrations. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Feb. 18, 2025

ISBN: 9781664300644

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tiger Tales

Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
HERE A CREAK, THERE A SHRIEK!
by Kelly Conroy ; illustrated by Nikolas Ilic

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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

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

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

- BOOK REVIEW
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)