THE YIPPY, YAPPY YORKIE IN THE GREEN DOGGY SWEATER

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THE YIPPY, YAPPY YORKIE IN THE GREEN DOGGY SWEATER

Name: THE YIPPY, YAPPY YORKIE IN THE GREEN DOGGY SWEATER
Author: Debbie Macomber
ISBN: 978-0-06-165096-3

From the Blossom Street Kids series , Vol. 2

by Debbie Macomber & Mary Lou Carney & illustrated by Sally Anne Lambert ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2012

This yippy, yappy Yorkie is just another tired puppy in search of a plot.

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Macomber and Carney team up for their second entry in the Blossom Street Kids series, this time focusing on an unwanted move to a new neighborhood for a girl named Ellen and her Yorkshire terrier named Baxter.

Ellen is reluctant to leave her familiar house, her friends and the local shop owners she has befriended, including the yarn shop where she learned to knit. Once settled in their new house, her woes increase when Baxter the Yorkie escapes from the back yard while wearing the bright green sweater that Ellen knit for him. Ellen and her mother visit the shops in their new neighborhood, repeating over and over to each owner in turn, “Have you seen a yippy, yappy Yorkie in a green doggy sweater?” They find Baxter in the flower shop, where he has found a Yorkie friend for himself and her owner, a little girl who befriends Ellen. The story is completely predictable and nearly devoid of any suspense or humor, and even the two Yorkies don’t offer much spunk to spice things up. Soft-focus watercolor illustrations convey Ellen’s sad feelings, but there is little motion or excitement, just pretty rooms and shops and a tiny dog that fades into the backgrounds rather than driving the action.

This yippy, yappy Yorkie is just another tired puppy in search of a plot. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-06-165096-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE TRULY TERRIBLY HORRIBLE SWEATER...THAT GRANDMA KNIT
by Debbie Macomber and Mary Lou Carney & illustrated by Vincent Nguyen

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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MANGO, ABUELA, AND ME

by Meg Medina ; illustrated by Angela Dominguez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 25, 2015

This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez,...

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Abuela is coming to stay with Mia and her parents. But how will they communicate if Mia speaks little Spanish and Abuela, little English? Could it be that a parrot named Mango is the solution?

The measured, evocative text describes how Mia’s español is not good enough to tell Abuela the things a grandmother should know. And Abuela’s English is too poquito to tell Mia all the stories a granddaughter wants to hear. Mia sets out to teach her Abuela English. A red feather Abuela has brought with her to remind her of a wild parrot that roosted in her mango trees back home gives Mia an idea. She and her mother buy a parrot they name Mango. And as Abuela and Mia teach Mango, and each other, to speak both Spanish and English, their “mouths [fill] with things to say.” The accompanying illustrations are charmingly executed in ink, gouache, and marker, “with a sprinkling of digital magic.” They depict a cheery urban neighborhood and a comfortable, small apartment. Readers from multigenerational immigrant families will recognize the all-too-familiar language barrier. They will also cheer for the warm and loving relationship between Abuela and Mia, which is evident in both text and illustrations even as the characters struggle to understand each other. A Spanish-language edition, Mango, Abuela, y yo, gracefully translated by Teresa Mlawer, publishes simultaneously.

This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez, an honoree. (Picture book. 4-7)