A clever introduction to sleuthing for young readers, with plenty of context in the illustrations to offset some unfamiliar...
A boy investigates the disappearance of a fish in this debut picture book.
Jamie, a freckle-faced child with a poof of curly brown hair, is dismayed to get home from school and discover that Fritz is missing from his fishbowl. Jamie’s first step in locating the beloved Fritz is putting up lost-pet posters, a move sure to start preschool readers giggling. When a helpful local gumshoe—decked out in a Holmes-ian hat and trench coat and bizarrely walking a sweater-wearing squirrel on a leash—calls Jamie’s problem a mystery, the boy approaches Fritz’s vanishing like a detective. Clues lead to a feline suspect, but other hints send Jamie all the way to a water treatment facility. Although he fails to find Fritz, the fish shows up in the most unexpected place for a happy ending. Ball’s text and Özcan’s (Köse Bucak Safranbolu, 2016, etc.) illustrations work in perfect sync to expand the story in a way neither could accomplish alone. The cartoonish images include plenty of silly and absurd details sure to delight young readers, who may spot a missing bird and frog featured on posters. (Jamie’s race is unclear in the pictures.) Ball’s first-person, tongue-in-cheek narration is accessible despite several challenging words and phrases (“alibied,” “key witness”). And Jamie’s efforts are worthy of the big win at the tale’s conclusion.
A clever introduction to sleuthing for young readers, with plenty of context in the illustrations to offset some unfamiliar vocabulary.Pub Date: May 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-73373-750-0
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Writing Times Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A fast and funny alternative to the Wimpy Kid.
Black sixth-grader Jake Liston can only play one song on the piano. He can’t read music very well, and he can’t improvise. So how did Jake get accepted to the Music and Art Academy? He faked it.
Alongside an eclectic group of academy classmates, and with advice from his best friend, Jake tries to fit in at a school where things like garbage sculpting and writing art reviews of bird poop splatter are the norm. All is well until Jake discovers that the end-of-the-semester talent show is only two weeks away, and Jake is short one very important thing…talent. Or is he? It’s up to Jake to either find the talent that lies within or embarrass himself in front of the entire school. Light and humorous, with Knight’s illustrations adding to the fun, Jake’s story will likely appeal to many middle-grade readers, especially those who might otherwise be reluctant to pick up a book. While the artsy antics may be over-the-top at times, this is a story about something that most preteens can relate to: the struggle to find your authentic self. And in a world filled with books about wanting to fit in with the athletically gifted supercliques, this novel unabashedly celebrates the artsy crowd in all of its quirky, creative glory.
A fast and funny alternative to the Wimpy Kid. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-553-52351-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
A warm hug of a picture book wishing all children happy, fulfilled, and meaningful lives.
A picture book filled with positive messages for young children.
From the first “I wish you” page of this picture book to the last, the author of Bedtime for Picco Puppy and other books in the Picco Puppy picture book series (2019) offers children words of encouragement and inspiration, complemented by a gifted artist’s charming illustrations. “I wish you dreams and aspirations, to spread your wings and reach for the stars,” the book begins. On the page, against a deep blue starry sky, a little brown-haired girl steadies a ladder for a blond boy in a space helmet who is reaching for the moon. Children of different races frolic in a snowy wood to illustrate “I wish you joy and laughter, to laugh long and loud until you gasp for breath.” A little Black girl in a wheelchair and a light-skinned boy share an ice cream cone on a leafy autumn day to illustrate “I wish you kindness and generosity, for no act of kindness is ever wasted, no matter how small.” Each “wish” is stated with graceful simplicity; each colorful illustration matches that tone and delights the eye. Two end-of-book features invite children to go back through the pages: “Can You Spot the Famous People?” highlights pictures of some of the book’s characters as if they are child versions of such well-known figures as Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong, and NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, accompanying each name with a short bio. “Can You Spot the Dog?” identifies each dog in the book with its breed.
A warm hug of a picture book wishing all children happy, fulfilled, and meaningful lives.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-925973-12-9
Page Count: 38
Publisher: Picco Puppy
Review Posted Online: Nov. 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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