Sure to cause a BUZZ in classes, provided the teacher can get through reading it aloud.
Cleary expands his language arts books with this look at onomatopoeia.
Mrs. Garcia’s class is ready and eager for the day: butterfly nets, cameras, notebooks, magnifying glasses, and headwear that includes both deerstalker caps and pith helmets. “One day every year, the students go out on a hunt— / a favorite exercise of Mrs. Garcia— / to search the grounds and school / for something interesting and cool: / it’s what is known as onomatopoeia.” This abccb pattern makes for a tough read-aloud, as the meter and rhythm are off. But Cleary certainly gets points for enthusiasm and establishes himself as a credible contender for the record for most onomatopoeic words in one picture book. Set off in all-caps and a colored display type, each “SNAP,” “CLANG,” “FLUTTER,” and “WHIRR” stands out. The kids, a highly diverse group (two different brown-skinned girls depicted wear the hijab), go through and around the school visiting all the different classrooms and areas and collecting sounds—the gym, the science lab, the farm next door, the music room, even the bathroom (“FLUSH,” “TINKLE!”). But the exuberant book ends on a rather abrupt, even dampening note when the principal, certain the students who are sharing their words so loudly and enthusiastically are misbehaving, gives them one final one for their collection: “SHOOSH!” Pino’s pencil and Photoshop illustration are bright, detailed, and busy. Readers will find lots to pore over.
Sure to cause a BUZZ in classes, provided the teacher can get through reading it aloud. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4677-8799-4
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Millbrook/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
This sophisticated picture book works too hard at its important theme, but it may appeal to children of a mathematical bent.
When can a Triangle cause real trouble?
When it comes between Circle and Square, true best friends “since they were a dot and a speck.” Each shape is anthropomorphized: stick-figure hands and feet, different types of eyes, stereotypical spectacles for the squarish “bookworm,” yellow-striped headband for Circle, who “knew how to rock and roll,” and cool blue forelock for the “bold and exciting Triangle.” Colors in retro-style digital illustrations look a little toned down from bright crayon colors but still pop. The basic shapes are echoed and sometimes combined in other illustration elements. Adults may want to point these out or ask young children to search for them (the four triangles in a grilled-cheese sandwich, a party hat), but this book also focuses on what happens when a new, third person changes the relationship of an established pair. The text and illustrations attempt to make these emotional changes (and the reactions to them) tangible, but they sometimes fail by using visual and verbal puns that will not be fully understood by child readers. When Square and Circle pull too hard on Triangle’s sides, the shape becomes “pointless” and Triangle’s body disappears, leaving only his facial features, for instance. To solve the problem, Square repairs to the library and the lab, Circle trains hard, and they both work together to bring back their friend, forming “quite a trio.”
This sophisticated picture book works too hard at its important theme, but it may appeal to children of a mathematical bent. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-241084-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
A story that may encourage readers to be writers, too.
A paean to playfulness and following one’s own vision as essential to creativity.
In this follow-up to Mervin the Sloth Is About to Do the Best Thing in the World (2016), the eponymous red panda attempts to write a story. A bevy of animals (who’ll be familiar to readers of the prior title) helpfully offer ideas, but their onslaught of input ends up paralyzing poor Amy rather than inspiring her. Chan’s crowded, cartoon-style illustrations contribute to the depiction of this less-than-supportive environment as the repeated main text (the words of the title) is overwhelmed by a mounting crowd of animals with speech-balloon suggestions while Amy cowers to the side. Beside her is calm and quiet Mervin, who ultimately offers a playful solution to the conundrum Amy faces: in a metafictive turn, after a gazelle bumps loose the letter O from the word “world,” he tosses it about. Distraught Amy is initially oblivious to his playful gestures, but when she catches on she’s eager to join him in a “LETTER FIGHT!!!” In perhaps an underwhelming payoff on the title’s promise, their fun inspires Amy to retrieve some of the fallen letters and write “Amy and Mervin had a fun day” as her “best story in the world.”
A story that may encourage readers to be writers, too. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-233848-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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