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MR. OUCHY’S FIRST DAY

Name: MR. OUCHY’S FIRST DAY
Author: B.G. Hennessy
ISBN: 0-399-24248-1

by B.G. Hennessy & illustrated by Paul Meisel ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2006

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Tomorrow is Mr. Ouchy’s first day of teaching, and he is eager, but a little nervous. He has a new haircut, and his new clothes are laid out and ready, but it’s hard to get to sleep. He starts counting sheep, and the next thing he knows, the day has begun. He meets his class, tells them his name, teaches them about the clock and asks what they’d like to learn over the next year. Soon enough, Mr. Ouchy is back in bed, talking to his mother on the phone about his wonderful class, and then falling off to sleep. While the descriptions of the day are straightforward and quietly humorous, the story jumps around a bit; at times, the parallels between teacher and student seem a little strained. Still, the watercolors are bright and energetic, Mr. Ouchy is a likable character, and new students may find solace in the fact that teachers can be nervous, too. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: July 1, 2006

ISBN: 0-399-24248-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2006

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
CORDUROY TAKES A BOW
by Viola Davis & B.G. Hennessy ; illustrated by Jody Wheeler

- BOOK REVIEW
A CHRISTMAS WISH FOR CORDUROY
by B.G. Hennessy ; illustrated by Jody Wheeler

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SCARY PLACES MAP BOOK
by B.G. Hennessy & illustrated by Erwin Madrid

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BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL, STRONG LITTLE ME!

by Hannah Carmona Dias ; illustrated by Dolly Georgieva-Gode ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 14, 2018

Mixed-race children certainly deserve mirror books, but they also deserve excellent text and illustrations. This one misses...

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This tan-skinned, freckle-faced narrator extols her own virtues while describing the challenges of being of mixed race.

Protagonist Lilly appears on the cover, and her voluminous curly, twirly hair fills the image. Throughout the rhyming narrative, accompanied by cartoonish digital illustrations, Lilly brags on her dark skin (that isn’t very), “frizzy, wild” hair, eyebrows, intellect, and more. Her five friends present black, Asian, white (one blonde, one redheaded), and brown (this last uses a wheelchair). This array smacks of tokenism, since the protagonist focuses only on self-promotion, leaving no room for the friends’ character development. Lilly describes how hurtful racial microaggressions can be by recalling questions others ask her like “What are you?” She remains resilient and says that even though her skin and hair make her different, “the way that I look / Is not all I’m about.” But she spends so much time talking about her appearance that this may be hard for readers to believe. The rhyming verse that conveys her self-celebration is often clumsy and forced, resulting in a poorly written, plotless story for which the internal illustrations fall far short of the quality of the cover image.

Mixed-race children certainly deserve mirror books, but they also deserve excellent text and illustrations. This one misses the mark on both counts. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-63233-170-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Eifrig

Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
DAZZLING TRAVIS
by Hannah Carmona Dias ; illustrated by Brenda Figueroa

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SKELETON HICCUPS

by Margery Cuyler & illustrated by S.D. Schindler ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2002

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Who hasn’t shared the aggravation of a whole day’s worth of bone-rattling hiccups? Poor Skeleton wakes up with a deadly case that he can’t shake, and it’s up to his friend Ghost to think of something to scare them away. Cuyler (Stop, Drop, and Roll, 2001, etc.) cleverly brings readers through the ups and downs of Skeleton’s day, from shower to ball-playing. Home folk remedies (holding his breath, eating sugar) don’t seem to work, but Ghost applies a new perspective startling enough to unhinge listeners and Skeleton alike. While the concept is clever, it’s Schindler’s (How Santa Lost His Job, 2001, etc.) paintings, done with gouache, ink, and watercolor, that carry the day, showing Skeleton’s own unique problems—water pours out of his hollow eyes when he drinks it upside down, his teeth spin out of his head when he brushes them—that make a joke of the circumstances. Oversized spreads open the scene to read-aloud audiences, but hold intimate details for sharp eyes—monster slippers, sugar streaming through the hollow body. For all the hiccupping, this outing has a quiet feel not up to the standards of some of Cuyler’s earlier books, but the right audience will enjoy its fun. (Picture book. 4-6)