Brimful of fun and sure to inspire many repeat readings.
Anthropomorphic animals engage in a variety of activities throughout a bustling community.
There is a lot going on in Happy County. Eighteen mostly two-page chapters feature residents who are busy working, volunteering, exercising, and relaxing, among other pursuits. Some residents appear on the front endpapers, others are introduced later. In some cases, sequential panels follow a single character, as when Handywoman Hannah carries out a task at the Hyena household in a brief text replete with words that start with H. Other chapters offer a wide view of a specific setting, such as a scene-setting two-page spread and the county fair that serves as the grand finale. Long labels the objects and individuals in many of his characteristic bright, cartoon-style illustrations, enabling young listeners to practice, and probably expand, their vocabularies. He also includes questions and suggestions that encourage interaction. There are opportunities to match words and pictures, identify shapes, colors, and patterns, and practice the alphabet. Humorous storylines, clever wordplay, and occasional rhymes will charm listeners. Multiple appearances of some characters and the booklong chase of an adventurous chick in a visual subplot create continuity, and plentiful visual jokes add to the enjoyment. Gender equity is implied by the inclusion of female-presenting characters in nontraditional jobs, and the species mix amicably.
Brimful of fun and sure to inspire many repeat readings. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-19175-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...
Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.
This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6649-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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