A little boy who loves the subway tries to delay going to bed in this children’s picture book.
Sammy, a Caucasian child, is proud of knowing the New York City subway system’s different lines and stations. He loves riding the train and pretending to be the conductor. “But one thing Sammy does not like is BEDTIME,” says the book emphatically, and after Sammy gets into his pajamas, he tries to put off sleep by asking his parents for subway rides to exciting destinations, including Grand Central Station, the Bronx Zoo, and Coney Island. To all requests, his smiling parents give him the titular response. He finally agrees to sleep when his dad promises that “tomorrow we can ride any train you want...just not in your pajamas!” Debut author Spiegel offers a classic resisting-bedtime scenario with the repetition, gentle humor, and reassurance that kids appreciate. Children unfamiliar with subways in general or the New York system in particular may not get as much out of it, but textual clues and illustrations help fill things out: why Grand Central, for example? “I love to see all the people rushing to the big Metro-North trains!” explains Sammy. Mattucci and Lewis’ illustrations are colorfully child-friendly but with an urban sophistication that will appeal to adults.
A charming, comforting book in the popular go-to-sleep category.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-0-578-18874-4
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Chanticlare Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
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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. 14, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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One more myth dispelled for all the students who believe that their teachers live in their classrooms. During the last week of school, Mrs. Hartwell and her students reflect on the things they will miss, while also looking forward to the fun that summer will bring. The kids want to cheer up their teacher, whom they imagine will be crying over lesson plans and missing them all summer long. But what gift will cheer her up? Numerous ideas are rejected, until Eddie comes up with the perfect plan. They all cooperate to create a rhyming ode to the school year and their teacher. Love’s renderings of the children are realistic, portraying the diversity of modern-day classrooms, from dress and expression to gender and skin color. She perfectly captures the emotional trauma the students imagine their teachers will go through as they leave for the summer. Her final illustration hysterically shatters that myth, and will have every teacher cheering aloud. What a perfect end to the school year. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-58089-046-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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