An often fun read-aloud that could use a spoonful of science.
A group of children create gingerbread houses in Pattison’s picture book, illustrated by Joven.
When teacher Miss Sheridan announces a gingerbread-house-making contest, her young students race into action to create an entry for the class. At first, they burn the cookies, spread icing too thin, construct uneven walls, and place the roof askew. They also don’t put enough gumdrops on the structure, which eventually caves in. However, with a whole lot more icing—“We glue and we glue and we glue and we glue”—and swift chiseling, they manage to complete the house, which wins the grand prize. Joven’s playful, humorous color illustrations feature construction equipment and children with various skin tones, hairstyles, and eye colors. Pattison’s love of rhyming and repetition is on full display: “This is the roof, that we drop right on top….And it’s nibbled and pinched, and that simply must stop!” However, the book’s subtitle, “a STEM engineering story,” suggests that it will include math or science—in backmatter, at least—yet none accompanies the story; a spread titled “Lessons we’ve learned” reads like an afterthought. Despite these hiccups, Pattison’s text begs to be read aloud, and Joven’s spreads offer dynamic visuals that give readers’ eyes many places to travel on the page.
An often fun read-aloud that could use a spoonful of science.Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-62-944157-3
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Mims House
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones.
Not even the arrival of autumn can cool down this impetuous squirrel.
Although Squirrel is skeptical about Bird’s vegetable patch (“Nothing is HAPPENING!”), Bird does produce five (count them) lovely pumpkins. Squirrel picks out a favorite: “The enormous orange one.” Bird hints that Squirrel might want to help out; Squirrel sets out to fetch some work gloves and returns to find only four pumpkins. The frequently distracted Squirrel notices more gourds disappearing and leaps to the conclusion that a thief is near. And where’s Bird?! Has Squirrel’s pal also been taken? Diligently detecting, Squirrel finds clues—peck marks, footprints, and more—and produces a sketch of the suspect. As readers will guess, each clue turns out to point to one of Squirrel and Bird’s friends. Turns out Bird was delivering pumpkins to their pals while saving the big one to give to “my very best friend,” Squirrel. But why does Squirrel haul it up a tree? “So the Pumpkin Thief can’t find it, of course!” A page of pumpkin facts provides the learning component common to all titles in this series. Once more, readers will enjoy the pleasure of prediction and repetition, Squirrel’s silly persistence, Bird’s generosity, and the vibrant color illustrations, balancing orange with green.
More fun antics to satisfy returning fans and snag new ones. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 28, 2026
ISBN: 9781464268076
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2026
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
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