IVER AND ELLSWORTH

Name: IVER AND ELLSWORTH
Author: Casey W. Robinson
ISBN: 978-0-999-0249-1-1

by Casey W. Robinson ; illustrated by Melissa Larson ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 22, 2018

Bare trees, a white background to the images, and the muted colors suggest this takes place in winter; companionship in the...

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This gentle story about friendship, devotion, and commitment features an unlikely pair: an elderly man and an inanimate (or is it?), inarticulate inflatable polar bear that adorns the rooftop of the factory where the man works.

Every day, white, gray-haired Iver takes his lunch on the roof, where he sits with this bear, dubbed Ellsworth. Iver takes it upon himself to care for Ellsworth, clearing away dead leaves, snow, or rain streaks, depending on the season, and making sure his ropes are fastened. One day, Iver is very slow going about his business, and he tells Ellsworth he is about to retire. The following spread is an exemplar of restraint with few words (“ ‘I’m going to miss you,’ he says”); this is succeeded by a few spreads with no words, showing only in pictures the characters’ stories in parallel: Iver eating alone in a diner and going to the movies by himself; Ellsworth loosed from his rooftop ropes, blowing across the city. The happy ending resolves neatly when Ellsworth lands—where else?—on the roof of Iver’s home. Larson’s pencil-and-watercolor illustrations fit the tone, portraying a riverside industrial city with rolling hills beyond in suitably subtle grays, browns, and greens.

Bare trees, a white background to the images, and the muted colors suggest this takes place in winter; companionship in the winter of life is a cozy theme, portrayed comfortingly here. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: May 22, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-999-0249-1-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Ripple Grove

Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
SMALL THINGS MENDED
by Casey W. Robinson ; illustrated by Nancy Whitesides

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IZZY GIZMO AND THE INVENTION CONVENTION

From the Izzy Gizmo series

by Pip Jones ; illustrated by Sara Ogilvie ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2020

A disappointing follow-up.

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Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).

While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.

A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)