Kids, animals, and plucky word play combine in this engaging offering from first-time authors, and husband-and-wife team, McCall and Keeler. As the jacket explains, the text is based on a rhyming word game called “Stinky Pinky” or “Silly Willy.” To play, participants figure out the rhyming word pair that goes with the two-word clue. For example, bordered in bright orange, the opening photograph shows a boy patting the titular farm animal. Above, bold white text gives the clue: “A huge hog is a . . . ” Youngsters turn the page to reveal the words “BIG PIG” above a full-page photo of three children coaxing the creature into its pen. Subsequent photos show that “Cattle food is . . . / Cow Chow” and “A cozy beetle is a . . . / SNUG BUG.” Throughout, colorful frames define question-and-answer pairs; some will stump, many will surprise, all will bring smiles. A terrific read-aloud, the interactive format encourages students to call out responses and, eventually, challenge one another with clues they invent on their own. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-06-029765-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2001
An impending school visit by a celebrity chef sends budding cook Ollie into a tailspin. He and his classmates are supposed to bring a favorite family food for show and tell, but his family doesn’t have a clear choice—besides, his little sister Rosy doesn’t like much of anything. What to do? As in their previous two visits to Room 75, Kenah builds suspense while keeping the tone light, and Carter adds both bright notes of color and familiar home and school settings in her cartoon illustrations. Eventually, Ollie winkles favorite ingredients out of his clan, which he combines into a mac-and-cheese casserole with a face on top that draws delighted praise from the class’s renowned guest. As Ollie seems to do his kitchen work without parental assistance, a cautionary tip or two (and maybe a recipe) might not have gone amiss here, but the episode’s mouthwatering climax and resolution will guarantee smiles of contentment all around. (Easy reader. 6-7)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-06-053561-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Come November, lots of people would cast their vote for Oliver’s teacher—just the kind of secure, commanding, compassionate presence it would be good to see in the White House. Arranged by Brunkus in warmly agreeable two-page spreads—the left side depicting the teacher tending to her responsibilities at school, the right side showing her attending to the same qualities as chief executive—Oliver tells us of her fondness for white houses, that she likes to be followed about, likes to travel, knows how to keep the attention of her charges, doesn’t mind any number of meetings, and signs important documents. Then Winters ups the ante: this gray-haired, bespeckled wise soul also knows first-hand how to react to emergencies, handle health-care issues, is interested in finding people jobs, keeping the Earth clean, and knows—here’s the kicker—how to listen. It all starts so early, these fundamentals of a sensitive existence, and Winters makes the parallels simple to digest. Here’s a third-party candidate to get behind. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-525-47186-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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