bookshelf

SUN ABOVE AND BLOOMS BELOW

Name: SUN ABOVE AND BLOOMS BELOW
Author: Felicia Sanzari Chernesky
ISBN: 978-0-8075-3632-2

A SPRINGTIME OF OPPOSITES

by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky ; illustrated by Susan Swan ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2015

Not a strong choice for either springtime explorations or opposites, though teachers may reach for this in preparation for a...

bookshelf

The team of Chernesky and Swan rounds out the four seasons with this look at springtime opposites (Cheers for a Dozen Ears, 2014, etc.).

Miss Ava’s class takes a field trip to a local farm to see some chicks hatch. Along the way, they experience lots of opposites, which are highlighted in the text in bold and a larger font. As in Chernesky’s other seasonal books, the verse sometimes limps along, the lines often divided for rhyme at the expense of rhythm: “ ‘The white cat’s name is Whisker Jack,’ / the farmer said. ‘And Buster’s black.’ ” Other times, the pairs chosen seem odd and don’t strictly match the illustrations: “We giggled with our field trip buddies. / The ground below our boots was muddy. / Above, a sky of cloudy gray / drizzled on our sunny day.” The sun indeed hides behind a mass of dark clouds, but in no way could this be called a sunny day, save possibly attitudes. Swan’s busy mixed-media illustrations are rich in textures, the chickens especially colorful and patterned. Aside from the new chicks and the brilliant yellow daffodils, though, this could take place in almost any season (and indeed, the corn is tall enough to be late summer), weakening the seasonal theme.

Not a strong choice for either springtime explorations or opposites, though teachers may reach for this in preparation for a farm field trip. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-8075-3632-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Whitman

Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
FROM APPLE TREES TO CIDER, PLEASE!
by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky ; illustrated by Julia Patton

- BOOK REVIEW
CHEERS FOR A DOZEN EARS
by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky ; illustrated by Susan Swan

- BOOK REVIEW
PICK A CIRCLE, GATHER SQUARES
by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky ; illustrated by Susan Swan

bookshelf

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...

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

THE CRAYONS GO BACK TO SCHOOL

by Drew Daywalt ; illustrated by Oliver Jeffers ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 16, 2023

Nothing new here but a nonetheless congenial matriculant in publishing’s autumnal rite of back-to-school offerings.

bookshelf

The Crayons head back to class in this latest series entry.

Daywalt’s expository text lays out the basics as various Crayons wave goodbye to the beach, choose a first-day outfit, greet old friends, and make new ones. As in previous outings, the perennially droll illustrations and hand-lettered Crayon-speak drive the humor. The ever wrapperless Peach, opining, “What am I going to wear?” surveys three options: top hat and tails, a chef’s toque and apron, and a Santa suit. New friends Chunky Toddler Crayon (who’s missing a bite-sized bit of their blue point) and Husky Toddler Crayon speculate excitedly on their common last name: “I wonder if we’re related!” White Crayon, all but disappearing against the page’s copious white space, sits cross-legged reading a copy of H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man. And Yellow and Orange, notable for their previous existential argument about the color of the sun, find agreement in science class: Jupiter, clearly, is yellow AND orange. Everybody’s excited about art class—“Even if they make a mess. Actually…ESPECIALLY if they make a mess!” Here, a spread of crayoned doodles of butterflies, hearts, and stars is followed by one with fulsome scribbles. Fans of previous outings will spot cameos from Glow in the Dark and yellow-caped Esteban (the Crayon formerly known as Pea Green). (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Nothing new here but a nonetheless congenial matriculant in publishing’s autumnal rite of back-to-school offerings. (Picture book. 4-6)