Practical advice for parents and an entertainingly helpful get-ready book for kids starting school.
In Bronstein’s illustrated debut children’s book, a boy becomes upset when he first starts school because he doesn’t know what’s going to happen next.
Making the transition to attending school isn’t always easy for kids. Although young Stewie’s parents try to reassure him by telling him he’ll enjoy it, he’s still nervous. Right away, he has to deal with some uncomfortable feelings: “[T]he teacher said, ‘All Daddies and Mommies have to leave now.’ That made me sad and feeling sad makes me mad.” Later, just as Stewie settles into an activity, such as playing with trains, it’s time to do something else. Sudden transitions, rules, being told what to do—his parents didn’t prepare him for this. “Can you get me outta here?” Stewie asks the teacher at nap time. Eventually, he acts up so much that his mother has to come get him. At home, his older brother and younger sister sweetly try to cheer him up, but nothing really helps until Stewie has a late-night brainstorm to make a picture-schedule of his day, which will allow him to feel ready for each activity. His second day of school goes much better: “And when it was music time, I sang the loudest. (I am a Boomstein, after all.)” Throughout, Bronstein never shames Stewie for his loud, exuberant nature or his need to know what happens next. Instead, his parents and siblings respect his feelings and work together to solve his problem—a great lesson for all families. The book appends a discussion with two child-development experts, explaining the theoretical underpinnings of the book; this section contains thorough, helpful advice, such as urging parents to practice school routines with their child ahead of time. Young’s delightfully quirky, colorful illustrations charmingly help tell the story as they convey Stewie’s personality. Further resources, including a blank, printable “What Happens Next” picture-schedule, are available on the author’s website.
Practical advice for parents and an entertainingly helpful get-ready book for kids starting school.Pub Date: June 30, 2014
ISBN: 978-0990465201
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Nothing But The Truth Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires.
Little Blue Truck feels, well, blue when he delivers valentine after valentine but receives nary a one.
His bed overflowing with cards, Blue sets out to deliver a yellow card with purple polka dots and a shiny purple heart to Hen, one with a shiny fuchsia heart to Pig, a big, shiny, red heart-shaped card to Horse, and so on. With each delivery there is an exchange of Beeps from Blue and the appropriate animal sounds from his friends, Blue’s Beeps always set in blue and the animal’s vocalization in a color that matches the card it receives. But as Blue heads home, his deliveries complete, his headlight eyes are sad and his front bumper droops ever so slightly. Blue is therefore surprised (but readers may not be) when he pulls into his garage to be greeted by all his friends with a shiny blue valentine just for him. In this, Blue’s seventh outing, it’s not just the sturdy protagonist that seems to be wilting. Schertle’s verse, usually reliable, stumbles more than once; stanzas such as “But Valentine’s Day / didn’t seem much fun / when he didn’t get cards / from anyone” will cause hitches during read-alouds. The illustrations, done by Joseph in the style of original series collaborator Jill McElmurry, are pleasant enough, but his compositions often feel stiff and forced.
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-27244-1
Page Count: 20
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
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
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
