bookshelf

THE LITTLE KING AND THE BIG BED

Name: THE LITTLE KING AND THE BIG BED
Author: Clare Masterson

by Clare Masterson & developed by Mrs. Fizz's Classroom ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 22, 2013

An understated but illuminating first glimpse at what measurement is all about. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)

bookshelf

A little king breaks his bed and then has to contend with the invention of measurement to find one that is the right size.

This simple app, with minimal interaction and rudimentary storyline, introduces users to a boy-king who loves to bounce on his bed, until he busts the frame “and his bottom hit the floor. ‘Ouch!’ ” If told, his parents would hold him responsible. One of those light bulbs indicating thought illuminates: “He would get a new bed without telling them.” (Kings don’t have to worry about such trivialities as payment.) Toe-to-toe, he paces out the dimensions and gives them to his chamberlain, who gives them to the carpenter, the maker of duvets and the master of mattresses. They, in turn, use their own toe-to-toe measurements and arrive at a very disproportioned bed indeed, true only to the carpenter’s clodhoppers, the duvet maker’s petite tootsies and the mattress maestro’s standard-issues. The wizard is summoned, who produces three sticks of equal length for each of the bed makers. Thus the ruler—oh yes, pun fully intended—was born. Forget about Theodorus of Crete and all those Egyptians, Indians, Chinese and the many unsung creators of measurement—what is at stake here is the standard measure, one of the first and great democratic acts. The interactive element here is easy peasy (even if navigation from page to page throughout the site is not): The active ingredient has a glowing pulse. The settings are enveloped in fire-warmed hues, as befitting bedtime, and the bed is a vision of billowy swells in a royal blue sea, even if the characters are as stiff as cold marionettes.

An understated but illuminating first glimpse at what measurement is all about. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2013

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Mrs. Fizz's Classroom

Review Posted Online: March 19, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013

bookshelf

THE HUMBLE PIE

From the Food Group series

by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2025

A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts.

bookshelf

In this latest slice in the Food Group series, Humble Pie learns to stand up to a busy friend who’s taking advantage of his pal’s hard work on the sidelines.

Jake the Cake and Humble Pie are good friends. Where Pie is content to toil in the background, Jake happily shines in the spotlight. Alert readers will notice that Pie’s always right there, too, getting A-pluses and skiing expertly just behind—while also doing the support work that keeps every school and social project humming. “Fact: Nobody notices pie when there’s cake nearby!” When the two friends pair up for a science project, things begin well. But when the overcommitted Jake makes excuse after excuse, showing up late or not at all, a panicked Pie realizes that they won’t finish in time. When Jake finally shows up on the night before the project’s due, Pie courageously confronts him. “And for once, I wasn’t going to sugarcoat it.” The friends talk it out and collaborate through the night for the project’s successful presentation in class the next day. John and Oswald’s winning recipe—plentiful puns and delightful visual jokes—has yielded another treat here. The narration does skew didactic as it wraps up: “There’s nothing wrong with having a tough conversation, asking for help, or making sure you’re being treated fairly.” But it’s all good fun, in service of some gentle lessons about social-emotional development.

A flavorful call to action sure to spur young introverts. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025

ISBN: 9780063469730

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BIG CHEESE PRESENTS
by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald

- BOOK REVIEW
EVERYTHING'S WRONG!
by Jory John ; illustrated by Erin Kraan

- BOOK REVIEW
THE COOL BEAN MAKES A SPLASH
by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald

bookshelf

OTIS

From the Otis series

by Loren Long & illustrated by Loren Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009

bookshelf

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)