by Deborah Bodin Cohen ; illustrated by Yael Kimhi Orrelle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2017
All is happy and peaceful on this springtime Israeli holiday.
A sister and brother celebrate Israel’s Independence Day.
Redheaded, white Arielle happily gets ready for her workday because it is a very special day: Yom Ha’Atzma’ut, Israel’s birthday or Independence Day. Her brother Ezra is also getting ready to go to work. Arielle rides her scooter through the colorful streets of Jerusalem and thinks about her great-great-grandfather Ari, who was a conductor on a train from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem over 100 years ago—and who celebrated Passover in Cohen’s Engineer Ari and the Passover Rush (2015) and Sukkot in Engineer Ari and the Sukkah Express (2010), both illustrated by Shahar Kober. Arielle drives a very modern train, but before she starts out, she tapes a poster to the roof of the front car. Many people board the trains, including Arielle’s friends, who want her to join in their activities, but she is going to celebrate with her brother. The train makes many stops in Jerusalem, and Arielle finally sees her brother flying overhead with the Israeli Air Force in planes that spell out “Israel” in their contrails. From his cockpit, Ezra can read the message that his sister has placed on the train—and it is no surprise on this holiday. Orrelle’s bright and splashy art depicts a bevy of happy folk of a variety of skin colors.
All is happy and peaceful on this springtime Israeli holiday. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5124-2095-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
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by Amanda Driscoll ; illustrated by Amanda Driscoll ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 7, 2021
Should appeal to all the little grump trucks hauling their feelings about.
When dump trucks get angry (really, really angry), head for the hills!
Little Dump Truck is “the happiest member of the construction crew.” Assisting everyone from Excavator to Bulldozer, she hauls her load merrily. But sometimes things just don’t go her way. In rapid succession, dirt is blown in her face, a tire is punctured, and a flock of birds mistake her for a lavatory. Now she’s Little Grump Truck, and the exceedingly poor advice from her co-workers (“Ignore it. You’ll be fine”; “Shake it off!”) pushes her too far. After Little Grump Truck unloads (figuratively and literally) on her colleagues, everyone else has the “grumpies” too. It isn’t until she closes her eyes and focuses that Little Dump Truck is able to clear her mind and lighten her mood. Apologies are in order, and soon everything is humming (for the time being, anyway). Though the narrative doesn’t drill the message home, both child and adult readers alike will hopefully pick up on the fact that pithy aphorisms are maddeningly unhelpful when one is in a bad mood. Gray skies accompany the dump truck’s mood, which is depicted as an ever morphing agglomeration of hard, black scribbles. The accompanying art serves its purpose, investing its trucks with personality via time-honored headlight, windshield-wiper, and grille facial features. Little Dump Truck has a purple cab and green bed and a single lash on each headlight eye. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Should appeal to all the little grump trucks hauling their feelings about. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30081-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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by Tilda Balsley ; Ellen Fischer ; illustrated by Tom Leigh ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2013
Utterly artless but familiar; good for families whose children are nuts for Muppets.
The well-known Sesame Street characters visit Israel and impart information about the Passover holiday and story while on their way to a seder at the home of friends Avigail and Brosh.
After a flat tire on the bus, Grover and Big Bird decide to walk, only to get lost. On the way, they help a boy catch his runaway dog, carry groceries for an elderly woman, and convince the grouchy Moishe Oofnik to finally give them a ride to the seder with the promise of eating bitter herbs. “My favorite! Hop in.” Forced segues within this light-as-a-feather plot lead to snippets of information about the holiday and the celebratory dinner’s traditions, such as the Four Questions, the afikomen ritual and the theme of freedom. For example, worried about being late, Big Bird frets, “Yes, but now we’d really better hurry.” Grover replies, “Did you know…that the Jewish people were in a hurry when they followed Moses out of Egypt?” Familiar Muppet figures fill the commercial-looking illustrations. Bold primary colors depict Grover and Big Bird’s journey; thought-bubble sequences of the ancient Exodus are populated by bewildered-looking generic Muppet faces. Once the seder is complete, an enlightened Big Bird expresses his appreciation and wish to celebrate next year in Jerusalem.
Utterly artless but familiar; good for families whose children are nuts for Muppets. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7613-8491-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Kar-Ben
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
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by Tilda Balsley & Ellen Fischer ; illustrated by Tom Leigh
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