While Stan’s improvement is a little too good to be true, Alexander’s message is clear: “We all have to ask for help...
A little dog who has trouble with the mechanics of writing musters up the courage to ask his teacher for help.
Stan is excited about the birthday cards his class is making for the principal…until Miss Catnip tells them the cards have to include words. He tries his hardest, tongue sticking out the side of his mouth, to copy the words, but they come out “back to front and upside down, and some didn’t look like letters at all!” Within the multispecies classroom, Stan sits with a huge clock looming behind him, while a page turn places Stan against a completely black background, beautifully conveying Stan’s emotional turmoil and isolation. A friend convinces him to ask Miss Catnip for help, despite his fear that everyone will laugh at him. And when he does, not only does no one laugh, but Mimi turns out to need help as well. After Miss Catnip shows them how to form their letters, one afternoon of practice allows Stan to improve enough to proudly present Mr. Slippers with his birthday card that same school day. The rough "handwritten" type reflects the topic, but it may make it difficult for beginners to read, and certainly should not be emulated by those learning to write—the “r” looks like a “v,” and there are some letters that appear to be capitals when the context calls for lowercase.
While Stan’s improvement is a little too good to be true, Alexander’s message is clear: “We all have to ask for help sometimes.” (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5414-8
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 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
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