A route worth taking—and a gift for classrooms everywhere.
The first in a new series shines a spotlight on a fixture of many students’ school experiences: the bus driver.
Wordless spreads introduce Mr. Jay, who starts his morning by taking public transit. With breakfast in hand, Mr. Jay inspects his own vehicle—School Bus 3—“from hood to tread.” After he establishes that all is in tip-top shape, his route begins. The bus travels across all manner of terrain, stopping at various houses to let students on. But, amid twists and turns, can Mr. Jay pick up all 18 young passengers and make it to school before the bell chimes? The ever-present clock makes the passengers nervous, but Mr. Jay is on it. Despite a few surprises—from a sickly student to a mishap with a diorama—Mr. Jay repeatedly comforts the children with a consistent “That’s okay!” Wallace’s text echoes his statements with “We’re on our way!” An unexpected reveal at the end of the workday makes clear that bus driving runs in Mr. Jay’s family. The expressive, full-color illustrations depict students who vary in skin tone. Heder’s portrayal of long-haired, pale-skinned Mr. Jay in a safety vest makes for a delightfully jovial archetype. Speech bubbles effectively give voice to the large cast of characters without detracting from the engaging rhyme scheme.
A route worth taking—and a gift for classrooms everywhere. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780823457045
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Neal Porter/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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