by Jackie Azúa Kramer ; illustrated by Lisa Brandenburg ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 2019
Not for us.
Someone is in a hurry to grow up—until she isn’t.
On Prunella’s birthday she decides that she is “a BIG kid now” and proceeds to reject all manner of items and activities she decides she’s outgrown. “That’s for babies!” Pru repeatedly declares, even discarding “her favorite doll, Talking Sally…in a box of old toys.” The depiction of the doll makes it seem like a sentient, oddly small person, lending a perhaps unintentionally creepy feeling to the story as Pru begins to regret her rejection of Sally when she gets bored after spurning many opportunities for fun, including a tea party that Talking Sally suggests from the toy box. Then nighttime comes, and with it a lightning storm. Frightened Pru retrieves Sally from the box of toys, asking “Sally, are you scared in there?” And then she reassures the doll, “Don’t be scared! I’m here!” Seeking additional reassurance for herself, Pru ends up in her parents’ bed, and then throughout the following day she happily plays with Sally, embracing activities she’d previously eschewed and acknowledging that seeking comfort is both “for babies…and big kids like me!” Pru and her family present white, as does Sally, and all display snub noses that give them a piglike air. While eagerness to grow up is common in children, both text and art fail to create a compelling story around this feeling.
Not for us. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60537-455-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clavis
Review Posted Online: March 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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by Paul Schmid ; illustrated by Paul Schmid ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2014
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for...
Oliver, of first-day-of-school alligator fame, is back, imagining adventures and still struggling to find balance between introversion and extroversion.
“When Oliver found his egg…” on the playground, mint-green backgrounds signifying Oliver’s flight into fancy slowly grow larger until they take up entire spreads; Oliver’s creature, white and dinosaurlike with orange polka dots, grows larger with them. Their adventures include sharing treats, sailing the seas and going into outer space. A classmate’s yell brings him back to reality, where readers see him sitting on top of a rock. Even considering Schmid’s scribbly style, readers can almost see the wheels turning in his head as he ponders the girl and whether or not to give up his solitary play. “But when Oliver found his rock… // Oliver imagined many adventures // with all his friends!” This last is on a double gatefold that opens to show the children enjoying the creature’s slippery curves. A final wordless spread depicts all the children sitting on rocks, expressions gleeful, wondering, waiting, hopeful. The illustrations, done in pastel pencil and digital color, again make masterful use of white space and page turns, although this tale is not nearly as funny or tongue-in-cheek as Oliver and His Alligator (2013), nor is its message as clear and immediately accessible to children.
Still, this young boy’s imagination is a powerful force for helping him deal with life, something that should be true for all children but sadly isn’t. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-7573-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
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by Adam Rex ; illustrated by Claire Keane ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2019
A funny David-versus-Goliath story with a one-word question serving as the slingshot. (Picture book. 3-5)
Doctor X-Ray, a megalomaniac with an X-ray blaster and an indestructible battle suit, crashes through the ceiling of the local mall.
Innocent patrons scatter to safety. But one curious child gazes directly at the bully and asks: “Why?” At first, Doctor X-Ray answers with all the menace and swagger of a supervillain. The curious child, armed with only a stuffed bear and clad in a bright red dress, is not satisfied with the answers and continues asking: “Why?” As his pale cheeks flush with emotion, Doctor X-Ray peels back the onion of his interior life, unearthing powerful reasons behind his pursuit of tyranny. This all sounds heavy, but the humorously monotonous questions coupled with free-wheeling illustrations by Keane set a quick pace with comical results. At 60 pages, the book has room to follow this thread back to the diabolical bully’s childhood. Most of the answers go beyond a child’s understanding—parental entertainment between the howl of the monosyllabic chorus. It is the digital artwork, which is reminiscent of Quentin Blake’s, that creates a joyful undercurrent of rebellion with bold and loose brush strokes, patches of color, and expressive faces. The illustrations harken to a previous era save for the thoroughly liberated Asian child speaking truth to power.
A funny David-versus-Goliath story with a one-word question serving as the slingshot. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-6863-0
Page Count: 60
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
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