A fun and bouncy adventure for the earliest readers.
Join Bip and Zip, two pea-green, antennaed extraterrestrial cartoon friends (or siblings), for another in the Adventures of Zip series. Bip, wearing a diaper, is the younger and smaller of the two. A zap from Zip causes Bip to begin to grow. At first, Bip grows to be just as large as Zip, and the two play ball. Zip wins and smugly celebrates the triumph. But a delighted Bip continues to grow, ballooning until Bip is several times larger than Zip—and also somehow becoming light enough to blow away, rising into the stratosphere. Zip is helpless to save Bip. “Zip’s zaps are much too low!” Eventually, Bip effectuates a zap without Zip, becomes small again, and falls back toward Zip. But what luck! When Bip falls, the still-smiling being lands on a ball and is lucky enough to bounce up, up, up again and complete an amazing twisting triple somersault before safely landing. In the end as Bip takes a bow, Zip is forced to declare Bip the “best by far!” Prefacing this stand-alone story are boxes of word families, sight words, and bonus words to practice or review before reading. Most illustrations are compositionally simple, positioning Zip and Bip against plain white backgrounds, and most pages contain just one or two short rhyming sentences. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Zip and Bip have the touch to zap fun into early reading. (Graphic early reader. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8928-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon Spotlight
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY
Did you like this book?
While spending the day with Grandpa, young Goldie offers tips on the care and keeping of grandparents.
Though “loyal and loving,” Goldie’s grandfather proves to be quite a character. At Grandparents Day at school, his loud greeting and incessant flatulence are embarrassing, but Goldie is confident that he—and all grandparents—can be handled with the “right care and treatment.” The young narrator notes that playtime should involve the imagination rather than technology—“and NO video games. It’s just too much for them.” Goldie observes that grandparents “live on a diet of all the things your parents tell them are bad for them” but finds that Grandpa’s favorite fast-food restaurant does make for a great meal out. The narrator advises that it’s important for grandparents to get plenty of exercise; Grandpa’s favorite moves include “the Bump, the Hustle, and the Funky Chicken.” The first-person instruction and the artwork—drawn in a childlike scrawl—portray this grandfather in a funny, though unflattering, stereotypical light as he pulls quarters from Goldie’s ears, burps on command, and invites Goldie to pull his finger. Goldie’s grandfather seems out of touch with today’s more tech-savvy and health-oriented older people who are eager to participate with their grandchildren in contemporary activities. Though some grandparent readers may chuckle, kids may wonder how this mirrors their own relationships. Goldie and Grandpa are light-skinned; Goldie’s classmates are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Intended as an amusing parody, this groans with outdated irrelevance and immaturity. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 29, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-24932-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY
Did you like this book?
After a visit, an African-American grandfather and grandson say farewell under a big yellow moon. Granpa tells Max it is the same moon he will see when he gets home.
This gently told story uses Max’s fascination with the moon’s ability to “tag along” where his family’s car goes as a metaphor for his grandfather’s constant love. Separating the two relatives is “a swervy-curvy road” that travels up and down hills, over a bridge, “past a field of sleeping cows,” around a small town and through a tunnel. No matter where Max travels, the moon is always there, waiting around a curve or peeking through the trees. But then “[d]ark clouds tumbled across the night sky.” No stars, no nightingales and no moon are to be found. Max frets: “Granpa said it would always shine for me.” Disappointed, Max climbs into bed, missing both the moon and his granpa. In a dramatic double-page spread, readers see Max’s excitement as “[s]lowly, very slowly, Max’s bedroom began to fill with a soft yellow glow.” Cooper uses his signature style to illustrate both the landscape—sometimes viewed from the car windows or reflected in the vehicle’s mirror—and the expressive faces of his characters. Coupled with the story’s lyrical text, this is a lovely mood piece.
A quiet, warm look at the bond between grandfather and grandson. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: June 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-399-23342-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Did you like this book?
© Copyright 2022 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
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.
