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THE THREE LITTLE PIGS COUNT TO 100

Name: THE THREE LITTLE PIGS COUNT TO 100
Author: Grace Maccarone
ISBN: 978-0-8075-7901-5

by Grace Maccarone ; illustrated by Pistacchio ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2015

Count on other retellings for the fractured–fairy-tale shelf.

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The three little pigs take on math.

As the title indicates, the story overtly embeds math content in its text. First, one mother pig cuts two apples in half so that she and her three children can have a snack, but since they’re still hungry, she sends them off to seek their fortunes. The first two pigs acquire their respective, traditional building materials, with the text identifying five bundles of hay to build a cylindrical hut and six sticks (and some sheets) to build a conical teepee. The wolf’s huffing and puffing gives both pigs time to escape, and it also apparently slows him down enough that the third pig has time to reject various materials—seven baskets of wool, eight bags of leaves, nine boxes of rose petals, 10 pails of peanuts—until he finds someone (the Gingerbread Man) selling bricks and buys 100 for a bunkerlike house in the shape of a cube. After failing to huff and puff this house down, the wolf becomes a vegetarian, and the pigs gather in the brick house for dinner. A few extra pages prompt readers to revisit the shapes and numbers from the story, but these feel superfluous to the book rather than integral and enriching. Digital art cleverly incorporates metafictive references but is otherwise undistinguished.

Count on other retellings for the fractured–fairy-tale shelf. (Math picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-8075-7901-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Whitman

Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BROTHER PUMPKIN HEAD
by Lucia Panzieri ; illustrated by Samantha Enria translated by Grace Maccarone

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by Grace Maccarone ; illustrated by Célia Chauffrey

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LITTLE TREE THAT WOULD NOT SHARE
by Nicoletta Costa ; illustrated by Nicoletta Costa ; translated by Grace Maccarone

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ONE FAMILY

by George Shannon ; illustrated by Blanca Gómez ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 26, 2015

A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts.

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A playful counting book also acts as a celebration of family and human diversity.

Shannon’s text is delivered in spare, rhythmic, lilting verse that begins with one and counts up to 10 as it presents different groupings of things and people in individual families, always emphasizing the unitary nature of each combination. “One is six. One line of laundry. One butterfly’s legs. One family.” Gomez’s richly colored pictures clarify and expand on all that the text lists: For “six,” a picture showing six members of a multigenerational family of color includes a line of laundry with six items hanging from it outside of their windows, as well as the painting of a six-legged butterfly that a child in the family is creating. While text never directs the art to depict diverse individuals and family constellations, Gomez does just this in her illustrations. Interracial families are included, as are depictions of men with their arms around each other, and a Sikh man wearing a turban. This inclusive spirit supports the text’s culminating assertion that “One is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family.”

A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: May 26, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-374-30003-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
TURKEY TOT
by George Shannon ; illustrated by Jennifer K. Mann

- BOOK REVIEW
A VERY WITCHY SPELLING BEE
by George Shannon ; illustrated by Mark Fearing

- BOOK REVIEW
WHO PUT THE COOKIES IN THE COOKIE JAR?
by George Shannon ; illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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THE CRAYONS LOVE OUR PLANET

by Drew Daywalt ; illustrated by Oliver Jeffers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 13, 2024

A droll exploration of color and nature—and a welcome reminder to safeguard our planet.

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Daywalt and Jeffers’ wildly popular Crayons have an important ecological message.

Though climate change is never mentioned, the book nevertheless gently introduces responsibility for Planet Earth. As in previous titles, the main text is in a large black font, while the Crayons’ dialogue is presented in a smaller, gray font. Blue begins by showing off a blue-tinged image of the globe (land masses are depicted in a darker hue). Green takes over: “Yay, Trees! I did those!” Beige breaks in, pointing to a tiny wheat plant next to two large trees: “And wheat! I did the WHEAT!” Beige puts wheat front and center throughout—even on White’s drawing of mountaintop ice caps. When Red, Yellow, and Orange display drawings of various fruits, Beige interjects, “And WHEAT. Wheat is totally fruit.” Diplomatic Purple politely responds, “Um. NO. It is not.” Purple attempts to dissuade self-important Beige, but it all ends happily as the Crayons join hands and proclaim: “Our planet has all of us too, in many shapes, colors, and sizes.” Beige and Purple reconcile, with Beige adding, “And it’s our job to keep the planet safe.” Young children will easily absorb this positive message. Although these characters have had many outings, their quiet humor still succeeds, and fans will definitely want this new entry.

A droll exploration of color and nature—and a welcome reminder to safeguard our planet. (Picture book. 3-5)