A tale of funny behavior modification for the kindergarten set.
An eerie purple creature teaches a town of rude children an important lesson in this fantastical children’s book.
The kids aren’t very nice in a town dubbed Bratsville. They pick their noses, scream and shout, and misbehave in every situation—much to the chagrin of their helpless parents, who can do very little to quell their children’s ridiculous behavior. Nothing, it seems, can get the kids to be polite, conscientious members of society. The book blames sweets or smothering parents as possible sources of the brattiness, but it’s not until a mysterious, swampy purple being called the BetterNot comes to town that the children behave properly. BetterNot teaches every child that his or her behavior has consequences. For instance, Lilly Loudmouth calls people names, so BetterNot, using magical powers, makes sure that she’s transformed into a creature for doing so. Patrick Puncher has a habit of beating on his friends, and BetterNot warns him that he could end up hitting himself in the face. This continues until he expertly deals with all the problem children in town. After he finishes his mission of debratification, Bratsville is renamed Angelsville, as all the kids are now perfectly behaved. Del Vecchio (The Pearl of Anton, 2004) certainly has a grasp on how to engage parents and young readers alike. The book is part fun bedtime story and part cautionary tale and thus serves dual purposes: to delight children with rhyming prose and colorful, engaging illustrations and to dictate to them that certain behaviors aren’t acceptable in society. Such warning statements are a foundational aspect of parenting—how many children have been told not to make a face, lest it stick like that forever?—and this book offers a nice way for parents to get in on the joke while reinforcing their child’s good behavior. (After all, one never knows when BetterNot will be right around the corner.) Fong’s illustrations, meanwhile, are brightly hued and expertly drawn. This funny, thoughtful work may be very helpful for caretakers trying to curb children’s less-than-savory actions.
A tale of funny behavior modification for the kindergarten set.Pub Date: June 18, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-692-47105-0
Page Count: 36
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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