An entertaining thought experiment, but the characters are a bit too on-the-nose for pure comfort.
Anthropomorphic friends Monkey and Cake debate the mysterious contents of a cardboard box.
In a clear reference to Schrödinger, Monkey tells Cake that there’s a cat inside the box—but, supposedly, the cat disappears when the box is opened. Cake questions Monkey’s logic, wondering how they know there is a cat inside when the box is closed. Naturally, Monkey asks how Cake knows there is not a cat inside. Agreeing to disagree—and accepting the paradox—the pair leaves to get pie. The final pages set the matter straight once and for all. Taking a cue from the Elephant & Piggie series formula, the text consists entirely of dialogue. Speech bubbles are color-coded to easily match with characters (blue for Cake; yellow for Monkey). With a vocabulary of around 60 words, the dialogue offers plenty of repetition for emergent readers. Tallec’s expressive, dark-pencil–and-acrylic illustrations are set against a white background. That the characters are a brown monkey with an upturned cap and a yellow-and-pink slice of cake with a coating of brown frosting as hair opens the relationship up to racial analysis. In one spread, a zoomed-in portrait of Cake even looks like a white human. The simultaneously publishing This Is MY Fort! recycles the formula into a lesson on the cruelty of exclusion (Cake makes a fort in which no monkeys are allowed). In both texts, endpapers offer open-ended questions to contextualize the story.
An entertaining thought experiment, but the characters are a bit too on-the-nose for pure comfort. (Early reader. 4-8)Pub Date: March 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-14386-7
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A feathered cast of flight experts can’t lift one up as high as a friend.
A tot tries to fly a paper airplane but is hampered by unsolicited advice.
After carefully studying the book Flying 101, Riley is ready. Wearing aviator goggles and a scarf, light-skinned Riley prepares to fold a paper airplane and watch it soar. The countdown begins: “3 … 2 … 1…” Suddenly a large eagle appears, shouting, “STOP!” The eagle boastfully explains that Riley’s airplane won’t fly: “I rule the sky because I’m large and in charge. Trust me, it needs to be bigger!” So Riley folds a bigger plane. The countdown begins again. This time, a colorful parrot dives in, interrupting the process once more. “Only the best and brightest can rise above the rest. Don’t you see? It needs to be fancier!” So Riley adds vibrant colors. However, more and more birds squawk their suggestions (“faster!” “taller!” “longer!” “smarter!”). Fed up, Riley marches to a quiet spot, meeting one more avian visitor. But this one just might have what is needed for the airplane—and friendship—to soar. Set against large swaths of white space, the realistically depicted but expressive birds swoop in through the frames with their opinions. The repeating countdown refrain and consistent interruptions are surefire crowd pleasers for a read-aloud delight.
A feathered cast of flight experts can’t lift one up as high as a friend. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 12, 2024
ISBN: 9780593696729
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
Religious-themed affirmation to help steel little ones fretting about school.
Collier, founder of the international women’s ministry Broken Crayons Still Color, and co-author Bak help kids tackle first-day-of-school jitters.
There’s nothing like a new box of crayons, especially when the first day of school is right around the corner. Avery tries to enjoy coloring, but she feels “flippy, fizzy, and fluttery inside.” When Avery doesn’t want to eat dinner, her father realizes she’s nervous and encourages her to pray. Avery replies that she’s too scared; her father tells her, “You can do hard things.” Later, Avery draws with her crayons, but her depictions of her first day reflect her anxieties—attempting to draw the school playground, she scrawls an image of her being hit by a ball while another child laughs. Suddenly, Avery’s crayons break. Realizing she’s made a mess, she begins to sob: “I’m a mess, just like these crayons.” But one of the crayons Avery broke begins talking to her, telling her not to put herself down. The very polite crayons reassure Avery, telling her it’s OK to feel bad, offering her strategies for calming herself, and telling her that “no mess is ever too big for God.” Vasilica’s sprightly illustration are charming and inviting, while the message is a soothing one—though one more likely to appeal to religious, especially Christian, readers. Avery and her family present Black. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Religious-themed affirmation to help steel little ones fretting about school. (feelings color wheel) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023
ISBN: 9781400242900
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
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