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WHAT UNDERWEAR DOES A ZEBRA WEAR?

Name: WHAT UNDERWEAR DOES A ZEBRA WEAR?
Author: Henley Belle Johnson
ISBN: 978-0-692-12425-3

JOKES FOR KIDS

by Henley Belle Johnson , edited by Elle Muliarchyk Johnson , illustrated by Anna Dalbuz ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 10, 2018

This illustrated collection gives novice joke tellers—and their parents—some excellent puns to draw from.

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Awards & Accolades

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A debut picture book delivers jokes for the preschool crowd.

Finding jokes that are both funny and make sense to younger readers can be a challenge. But Henley Belle Johnson—with help from her mother and editor, Elle Muliarchyk Johnson, and debut illustrator Dalbuz—captures that balance perfectly here. The title joke uses a pun on the animal’s name, linking it to a sound-alike article of clothing (“A Z-BRA!”). The majority of the jokes in the collection begin with an animal, using the creature’s name (or the sound it makes) to complete a pun in the punchline. The clever way of playing with sounds makes the jokes accessible to younger readers. Helpful, color-printed portions of dinosaur names are especially useful in offering pronunciation clues to young listeners trying to guess the answers to the questions posed. One Spanish joke—“What does grass say to the gardener who waters it? GRASS-ias!”—shows readers that plays on words are not limited to English. Dalbuz’s brightly colored cartoon images are silly fun and will keep youngsters who can’t yet read giggling even if they don’t guess the punchlines. While the majority of the humans featured in the book have pale skin, one young joke teller and another background character are people of color. The animals, particularly the dinosaurs, are far more diverse.

This illustrated collection gives novice joke tellers—and their parents—some excellent puns to draw from.

Pub Date: July 10, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-692-12425-3

Page Count: 34

Publisher: Time Tunnel Media

Review Posted Online: July 12, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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THERE'S A MONSTER IN YOUR BOOK

From the Who's in Your Book? series

by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 2017

Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit.

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Readers try to dislodge a monster from the pages of this emotive and interactive read-aloud.

“OH NO!” the story starts. “There’s a monster in your book!” The blue, round-headed monster with pink horns and a pink-tipped tail can be seen cheerfully munching on the opening page. “Let’s try to get him out,” declares the narrator. Readers are encouraged to shake, tilt, and spin the book around, while the monster careens around an empty background looking scared and lost. Viewers are exhorted to tickle the monster’s feet, blow on the page, and make a really loud noise. Finally, shockingly, it works: “Now he’s in your room!” But clearly a monster in your book is safer than a monster in your room, so he’s coaxed back into the illustrations and lulled to sleep, curled up under one page and cuddling a bit of another like a child with their blankie. The monster’s entirely cute appearance and clear emotional reactions to his treatment add to the interactive aspect, and some young readers might even resist the instructions to avoid hurting their new pal. Children will be brought along on the monster’s journey, going from excited, noisy, and wiggly to calm and steady (one can hope).

Playful, engaging, and full of opportunities for empathy—a raucous storytime hit. (Picture book. 2-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-5247-6456-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: June 4, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A BEAR IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Tom Fletcher

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A UNICORN IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A WITCH IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A BEAR IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Tom Fletcher

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A UNICORN IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A WITCH IN YOUR BOOK
by Tom Fletcher ; illustrated by Greg Abbott

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HOME

by Carson Ellis ; illustrated by Carson Ellis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 24, 2015

Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.

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Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”

Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.

Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)