An incantatory surge drives this simple story to an inspired place far beyond the elemental confines of the plot. Empathic watercolor illustrations depict a preschooler’s introduction to kindergarten; she goes on tiptoe into her older brother’s classroom: “I can be/so very still. Hiding, hiding,/I can watch now/what they’re doing/all day long.” As she explores, she gets drawn in, “On the chalkboard/I make letters/Take my turn/when they are done.” Sometimes the girl investigates on her own, with blocks and puzzles and a search for the bathroom; other times there is distant engagement: “Singing songs now/jumpy songs now/Clapping hands/and stomping feet.” By the end of the day, the girl is ready for her own first day in kindergarten, sometime soon. Children will doubtless appreciate not just the defusing of kindergarten angst, but the compassionate, vivid musicality of Rogers’s pages as well. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-46653-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
In a book that shows one kind of conflict resolution, Hugo, a shy frog with a small croak, learns to be more assertive with the help of a duck. Hugo lives in terror of the big frogs, especially Pop Eyes, a bully who dumps Hugo into the pond upside down, snatches his stick, and splashes him. Duck teaches Hugo to quack loudly when threatened, and the next time the bully frogs come around, Hugo opens his mouth and bellows “QUACK!” The result of this surprising emission is that birds scatter, butterflies flutter, fish flap, and the bully frogs fall into the pond. Church’s art gives the frogs, fish, snails, and worms of this story bright colors and ping-pong-ball eyes, plus the requisite goofy expressions. A funny story, with surprises that will have toddlers giggling. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-86233-093-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
Hopping is not hard, for a frog, but when he asks other animals to join him, he finds that bats flap, lobsters snap, and dust flies when an especially large rhinoceros stomps. None of the creatures can do what the frog does so well, until he meets a rabbit, and it becomes a friendship bound by bounding. Vere’s creatures are reminiscent of Sandra Boynton’s: smiling, bright, and lively, unrestrained by this board book’s small dimensions. A hopping good time. (Board book. 1-4)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30131-1
Page Count: 22
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
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