Nothing original here, but this is an amusing-enough way of looking at the issue of becoming your own person
Do George’s big, round ears bring in too many opinions from the people around him?
This pinkish cartoony figure of a boy with black hair and very large circular protuberances coming out of his head has a problem (but it’s not the fact that his ears knock things over). He can hear “things on the sly. // But the trouble with hearing each word that is said… / Well, soon the words started to fill George’s head.” George can’t make any decisions. He spends too much time trying to decide if he likes pink or blue (after hearing children arguing over stereotypical gender choices) or which games or toys or names are his favorites (this British import uses British spellings, “colours” and “favourites”). When he encounters children and adults in public (both with realistic skin tones and with green and purple faces too), the words all meld together into “BLAH, BLAH, BLAH,” written all over the background in visual cacophony. Finally, George decides just to listen to himself. He chooses pink as his favorite color, selects his favorite toy and game, and picks his own name as the best. He discovers that when he is himself, other people can appreciate him too. The appealing digital illustrations with their childlike images and strong background colors are humorous, but the rhyming story is reminiscent of many others about self-esteem.
Nothing original here, but this is an amusing-enough way of looking at the issue of becoming your own person . (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: May 5, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-84780-794-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
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
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A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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