Fans are sure to look forward to what Gracie imagines in the spring.
The multilingual Gracie and her brainy dog MonkeyBear return for winter adventures in O’Kelly and Farrell’s (The Adventures of Gracie & MonkeyBear: Book 1: Summer, 2017) second series entry.
MonkeyBear has been preparing for a journey, judging from his consultation of a map of Yeti sightings and books about Yeti, Nepal, and airships. He and Gracie soon find huge footprints in Grandma’s yard, and a cry for help leads them to the cave of a Yeti whose yak has accidentally frozen its tongue to the ice. The authors celebrate science education by having Gracie smartly solve the problem by bouncing sunlight off of mirrors, but when it works too well, Gracie and MonkeyBear must carve an ice boat for themselves. Next, they rescue a snow leopard by turning their boat into an airship. Lastly, they encounter Denpa Druk, a Bhutanese Thunder Dragon (“Finally, MonkeyBear, I get to speak Dzongkha,” says Gracie), who needs help getting his magic stripes back—all before Grandma calls Gracie and MonkeyBear home. Overall, this sequel features just as many exciting encounters as the first book and as many delightful details in the pictures. One glorious illustration features fantastic cloud hues and sunlight while requiring the book to be turned sideways.
Fans are sure to look forward to what Gracie imagines in the spring.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-946807-02-1
Page Count: 36
Publisher: MonkeyBear Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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