In this second entry in the May Belle and Ogre easy reader series, May Belle continues to try to civilize her friend, a furry beast without much sense of how the world works. In three short chapters, May Belle teaches Ogre how to work on a garden together, how to read a few words and how to find outdoor activities when Ogre is bored. The middle section, “J-A-M for Two,” is particularly well written as it describes Ogre learning to read in a hilarious (but also touching) way. Ogre is continuously funny as he tries to eat everything in sight, restrained by May Belle’s patient guidance. There are some repeated silly refrains of “doo-wacka-doo,” nonsense words that stick out like Ogre’s spiky gray fur, but overall the text sports a droll sense of humor rarely found in easy readers. Winborn’s amusing paintings add to the humorous mix with matching furry eyebrows for both monster and little girl. (Easy reader. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-525-47291-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2005
This visually buoyant book may well succeed at redirecting gender expectations—though not bending them.
The title answers a question: What does the world need?
In simple, aphorism-laced language, Murphy offers a positive vision of masculinity that focuses on what he dubs “ ‘inside’ strength”—the sort that privileges kindness, respect for self and for others, knowing when to ask for help, and daring to dream big. He begins with guidelines for right behavior on the playing field (“Say ‘Nice goal!’ and ‘Good try!’ / Don’t say ‘You throw like a girl.’ Ever”). With the heartily welcome reminder that “there’s so much more than sports,” he goes on to suggest that spending time in a garden, kitchen, or science lab, playing music, reading or writing stories can all be just as valid and satisfying. Likewise showing consideration for others, working toward goals, and finally realizing that “the best you / is the you that is ALL you…. / Not a little you and a little someone else.” Harren adds life and color to this earnest but not exactly electrifying advice in vignettes depicting a black lad with mobile features and interracial parents playing or otherwise posing in various settings amid a thoroughly diverse cast of peers, pets, and passersby. The figures, human and otherwise, are rendered with fetching individuality that really comes out in group scenes…particularly on the closing pages, where the illustrator lines up smiling young children, including girls, in informal rows.
This visually buoyant book may well succeed at redirecting gender expectations—though not bending them. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: July 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-53411-046-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
The buoyant uplift seems a bit pre-packaged but spot-on nonetheless.
A monohued tally of positive character traits.
Purple is a “magic color,” affirm the authors (both actors, though Hart’s name recognition is nowhere near the level of Bell’s), and “purple people” are the sort who ask questions, laugh wholeheartedly, work hard, freely voice feelings and opinions, help those who might “lose” their own voices in the face of unkindness, and, in sum, can “JUST BE (the real) YOU.” Unlike the obsessive protagonist of Victoria Kann’s Pinkalicious franchise, being a purple person has “nothing to do with what you look like”—a point that Wiseman underscores with scenes of exuberantly posed cartoon figures (including versions of the authors) in casual North American attire but sporting a wide range of ages, skin hues, and body types. A crowded playground at the close (no social distancing here) displays all this wholesome behavior in action. Plenty of purple highlights, plus a plethora of broad smiles and wide-open mouths, crank up the visual energy—and if the earnest overall tone doesn’t snag the attention of young audiences, a grossly literal view of the young narrator and a grandparent “snot-out-our-nose laughing” should do the trick. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.4-by-20.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 22.2% of actual size.)
The buoyant uplift seems a bit pre-packaged but spot-on nonetheless. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-12196-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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