by Daniel Kirk ; illustrated by Daniel Kirk ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2013
The familiar characters make this architectural adventure feel downright homey. (Picture book. 5-9)
Sam the mouse and his friend Sarah are back in a new, fifth adventure, and this time, it’s centered on the renovations to their library home.
Needing temporary residences, they move to the attic to build them. Of course, they need architecture books to determine which type suits them. Sam, the storyteller and dreamer, builds his with formal columns, while Sarah, the explorer, makes a yurt. But neither seems cozy enough for a home, so they keep trying, building a castle, an igloo, a bungalow and more. Finally, Sarah comes up with the perfect solution: She uses an atlas to form an A-frame they can share. When the renovation is completed and the students return to the library, they find each of Sam’s and Sarah’s houses sitting on the shelves with a sign that says: “Home and where to find it.” (It’s too bad there’s no map or labels depicted in the illustration to help young library customers with the “where to find it” part.) Kirk’s familiar gouache illustrations maintain a mouse perspective filled with library details. This clever presentation of world housing types has three pages of backmatter that describe each style and its location. Not only is the story amusing, but the information will be useful in classrooms.
The familiar characters make this architectural adventure feel downright homey. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4197-0544-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
Share your opinion of this book
More by Daniel Kirk
BOOK REVIEW
by Daniel Kirk ; illustrated by Daniel Kirk
BOOK REVIEW
by Daniel Kirk ; illustrated by Daniel Kirk
BOOK REVIEW
by Daniel Kirk ; illustrated by Daniel Kirk
by Tedd Arnold ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2013
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity.
Buzz and his buzzy buddy open a spinoff series of nonfiction early readers with an aquarium visit.
Buzz: “Like other fish, sharks breathe through gills.” Fly Guy: “GILLZZ.” Thus do the two pop-eyed cartoon tour guides squire readers past a plethora of cramped but carefully labeled color photos depicting dozens of kinds of sharks in watery settings, along with close-ups of skin, teeth and other anatomical features. In the bite-sized blocks of narrative text, challenging vocabulary words like “carnivores” and “luminescence” come with pronunciation guides and lucid in-context definitions. Despite all the flashes of dentifrice and references to prey and smelling blood in the water, there is no actual gore or chowing down on display. Sharks are “so cool!” proclaims Buzz at last, striding out of the gift shop. “I can’t wait for our next field trip!” (That will be Fly Guy Presents: Space, scheduled for September 2013.)
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity. (Informational easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-50771-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Tedd Arnold ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold
by Tedd Arnold ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold
by Tedd Arnold ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold
More by Tedd Arnold
BOOK REVIEW
by Tedd Arnold , Martha Hamilton & Mitch Weiss ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold
BOOK REVIEW
by Tedd Arnold ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold
BOOK REVIEW
by Tedd Arnold & Martha Hamilton & Mitch Weiss ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2014
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
More by Mo Willems
BOOK REVIEW
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
BOOK REVIEW
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
BOOK REVIEW
by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
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.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.