The squabbles caused by a brief shower on a busy street turn to smiles under the ensuing rainbow in this picture-book mini-drama from the author of No, David! (1998). Plunked by the first few drops, some chickens squawk, exciting a cat whose yowls make a dog bark, which makes a man yell, which wakes up a baby . . . and so on, until traffic is jammed, horns are honking, store owners are out on the sidewalk bickering, and an awkward shopper knocks over a fruit stand. Then the rain stops, the sun comes out, bringing a rainbow, and just like that everyone’s annoyance melts away and life is sweeter. Using a bright palette and making small details and facial expressions stand out, Shannon creates a gleaming, rain-washed neighborhood of gently caricatured residents, all of whom fall into conventional gender roles but convey the episode’s moods, changeable as the weather, with theatrical flair. Broader, perhaps, but less refreshing in the end than Karen Hesse’s lyrical Come On, Rain! (1999). Save it for a rainy day. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-439-05021-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Likely to be a friend to STEM elementary educators.
STEM content on simple machines and robotics meets play and compassion.
A diverse group of children with varying skin tones and hair textures works with a robot to build a treehouse. A black girl emerges as the leader of the group, and it’s her friend Robot who assists them. Robot lends a fantastic feel to the story, since illustrations make it look like something out of The Jetsons rather than a robot like those described in backmatter, but the things it introduces (a wedge, a wagon with wheels, screws, a hammer, a ladder, and a pulley) are immediately relevant and accessible to child readers learning about simple machines and other tools. Singsong text (set to the tune of “London Bridge” in the backmatter and on an accompanying CD, performed by Norma Joan Wright) shifts from the pragmatic to the emotional when, after resourceful Robot helps build the treehouse, it is stumped as to how to help a fretful dog get up to it. The children use emotional intelligence and say “Pet him in a gentle way, gentle way—it’s been a long day” and successfully sooth the dog so it can join them in the treehouse as Robot departs. Throughout, illustrations highlight the key tools and steps in the building process, and the backmatter provides more comprehensive information about their functions.
Likely to be a friend to STEM elementary educators. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-78285-322-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
A quick hop, skip, and jump over the topic, adequate for first impressions but a large step behind Ingo Arndt’s Best Foot...
A gamboling gallery of animal feet in action.
Tolson’s cheery paint-and–cut-paper views of smiling animals on the move carry a light but, considering the thundering herd of similar surveys available, unexceptional load. They illustrate a survey of how animal feet are adapted to run, jump, climb, swim, dig, grip, kick, keep eggs warm, and—in the case of the male blue-footed booby—attract the ladies. Readers will come away with a solid grasp of the notion that there are different sorts of feet, but it’s misleading to claim that “CHEETAH feet never slip,” and as Murphy sticks to vertebrates for her 13 examples, the “feet” of snails and insects go unnoted. Moreover, she skips past adaptive differences in bone structure or other internal anatomy, nor does she offer print or online leads for young investigators who might want a leg up on, for instance, the three basic types of mammalian foot.
A quick hop, skip, and jump over the topic, adequate for first impressions but a large step behind Ingo Arndt’s Best Foot Forward (2013). (Informational picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-68152-195-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Amicus Ink
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
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