by Celeste Davidson Mannis & illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2003
Queen Elizabeth I makes her way through the English countryside on one of her summer “progresses,” attended by an entourage that includes two traitors. Arranged alphabetically, Elizabeth’s travels are narrated, as in so many alphabet books these days, on two levels. The alphabet letters introduce short, doggerel verse, while accompanying text boxes provide fuller information about the goings-on. This split-personality organization conveys too little information for those whose attention spans limit the experience to the alphabet portion of the narrative. “I is for intrigue, / and shadowy strangers,” will be nothing short of baffling to this set, although older children will learn that “[m]any plots were aimed at Queen Elizabeth during her reign.” Ibatoulline seems able to adapt his style to anything, here rendering lush, detailed oils that recall the Northern European masters of the Renaissance. The traitors, however, although they are introduced in the “A” spread, do not figure enough throughout the rest of the illustrations to build a satisfying tension before the climax. A potentially lovely and interesting effort, but both text and illustrations just miss the mark. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-670-03612-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2003
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HISTORY
Share your opinion of this book
Did you like this book?
More by Celeste Davidson Mannis
BOOK REVIEW
by Celeste Davidson Mannis & illustrated by Miles Hyman
BOOK REVIEW
by Celeste Davidson Mannis & photographed by Celeste Davidson Mannis
BOOK REVIEW
by Celeste Davidson Mannis & illustrated by Susan Kathleen Hartung
by Roni Schotter & illustrated by Giselle Potter ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2006
A charmingly prolix tall tale of a boy so word-obsessed that he collects new words on slips of paper. They bulge from his pockets, float around his head and fill his world. Classmates nickname Selig “Wordsworth” and give him a word for his collection: “oddball.” The discovery that his purpose in life is to share his carefully chosen words with others leads to success and love. And, “if, one day, . . . the perfect word just seems to come to you . . . you’ll know that Selig is near.” Schotter’s words are enlivened by Potter’s distinctively naïve figures, all placed in settings in which words and labels are scattered about in a way that invites close inspection and promotes purposeful inquiry. It all adds up to an *exultant encounter, chockablock with tintinnabulating gusto (*see tantalizing glossary appended). A gift to precocious children and teachers as well. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 28, 2006
ISBN: 0-375-83601-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2006
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
Share your opinion of this book
Did you like this book?
More by Roni Schotter
BOOK REVIEW
by Roni Schotter ; illustrated by Julia Kuo
BOOK REVIEW
by Roni Schotter & illustrated by Janice Nadeau
BOOK REVIEW
by Roni Schotter & illustrated by Terry Widener
by Andrea Tsurumi ; illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 11, 2021
A frog tries to do everything a goat does, too.
Goat asks Frog to look at them before declaring “I’m ON it!” while balancing atop a tree stump near a pond. After an “Oooh!” and a “You know what?” Frog leaps off their lily pad to balance on a rock: “I’m on it, too!” Goat grabs a prop so that they can be both “on it AND beside it.” (It may take young readers a little bit to realize there are two its.) So does Frog. The competition continues as Frog struggles to mimic overconfident Goat’s antics. In addition to on and beside, the pair adds inside, between, under, and more. Eventually, it all gets to be too much for Frog to handle, so Frog falls into the water, resumes position on the lily pad, and declares “I am OVER it” while eating a fly. In an act of solidarity, Goat jumps in, too. In Tsurumi’s first foray into early readers she pares down her energetic, colorful cartoon style to the bare essentials without losing any of the madcap fun. Using fewer than 80 repeated words (over 12 of which are prepositions), the clever text instructs, delights, and revels in its own playfulness. Color-coded speech bubbles (orange for Goat, green for Frog) help match the dialogue with each speaker. Like others in the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading series, Elephant and Piggie metafictively bookend the main narrative with hilariously on-the-nose commentary.
Whether in hand or on shelf, this one’s sure to make a splash anywhere and everywhere. (Early reader. 4-8)Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-368-06696-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
Share your opinion of this book
Did you like this book?
More In The Series
by Jarrett Pumphrey & Jerome Pumphrey with Mo Willems ; illustrated by Jarrett Pumphrey & Jerome Pumphrey
by Ryan T. Higgins ; illustrated by Ryan T. Higgins
More by Jarrett Dapier
BOOK REVIEW
by Jarrett Dapier ; illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi
BOOK REVIEW
by David Goodner ; illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi
BOOK REVIEW
by David Goodner ; illustrated by Andrea Tsurumi
© Copyright 2022 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.