Jasper, an early-elementary student, is finally Star of the Week, but his enthusiastic expectations may exceed the reality of all that accompanies the treasured position.
Jasper’s best friend Ori has a new baby sister. Jasper thinks of her as "purple" because of the color of her face, since all she does is wail. Ori, who likes to begin sentences with “The thing is…,” is exhausted by the screaming-baby problem at his house. Still, Jasper—an only child—is a little jealous. Plum may be noisy, but she is more interesting than Earl, the wooden sibling Jasper builds, which he brings to school and imaginatively substitutes for a science experiment he forgot to create. His classmates are a bit nonplussed by his special Star of the Week show-and-tell item: A lint collection that includes the very rare father’s-belly-button stuff he likes to harvest. Lots of believable dialogue enhances the brief, large-print presentation. Written for those who have just transitioned to chapter books, this series opener includes simple yet attractive black-and-white illustrations every few pages. Nothing major happens, but Jasper’s day-to-day concerns are charming and funny.
Readers will identify with many of Jasper’s comical, age-appropriate issues as he navigates the sometimes confusing complications of early primary school. (Fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-55453-5781
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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A romance for carb (and pun!) lovers who dance to their own drummers and don’t give up on their dreams.
Bagel is a guy who loves to dance; when he’s tapping and twirling, he doesn’t feel plain. The problem is, he can’t find a partner for the Cherry Jubilee Dance Contest. Poppy says his steps are half-baked. Pretzel, “who was at the spa getting a salt rub…told him his moves didn’t cut the mustard.” He strikes out in Sweet City, too, with Croissant, Doughnut, and Cake. But just when he’s given up, he hears the music from the contest and can’t help moving his feet. And an echoing tap comes back to him. Could it be a partner at last? Yep, and she just happens to smell sweet and have frosting piled high. Bagel and Cupcake crush the contest, but winning the trophy? That “was just icing on the cake,” as the final sentence reads, the two standing proudly with a blue ribbon and trophy, hearts filling the space above and between them. Dardik’s digital illustrations are pastel confections. Sometimes just the characters’ heads are the treats, and other times the whole body is the foodstuff, with tiny arms and legs added on. Even the buildings are like something from “Hansel and Gretel.” However, this pun-filled narrative is just one of many of its ilk, good for a few yuks but without much staying power.
In contrast to the carbs and desserts pictured, though sweet, this is unlikely to stick with readers. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4549-2239-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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A young visionary describes his ideal school: “Perfectly planned and impeccably clean. / On a scale, 1 to 10, it’s more like 15!”
In keeping with the self-indulgently fanciful lines of If I Built a Car (2005) and If I Built a House (2012), young Jack outlines in Seussian rhyme a shiny, bright, futuristic facility in which students are swept to open-roofed classes in clear tubes, there are no tests but lots of field trips, and art, music, and science are afterthoughts next to the huge and awesome gym, playground, and lunchroom. A robot and lots of cute puppies (including one in a wheeled cart) greet students at the door, robotically made-to-order lunches range from “PB & jelly to squid, lightly seared,” and the library’s books are all animated popups rather than the “everyday regular” sorts. There are no guards to be seen in the spacious hallways—hardly any adults at all, come to that—and the sparse coed student body features light- and dark-skinned figures in roughly equal numbers, a few with Asian features, and one in a wheelchair. Aside from the lack of restrooms, it seems an idyllic environment—at least for dog-loving children who prefer sports and play over quieter pursuits.
An all-day sugar rush, putting the “fun” back into, er, education. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-55291-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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