While new readers will giggle at details such as the teacher’s name (Miss Slime) or the rat-liver sandwich Lulu eats for...
Lulu Witch is excited to begin witch school—that is, until a know-it-all classmate spoils the experience. Will the two witches ever get along?
This reissue of O’Connor’s 1990 title features updated illustrations from Sinclair. Her pictures have a retro appeal that gives this quaint tale for beginning readers a classic touch. When children are not busy practicing their reading skills, they will have fun spotting the bugs, mouse, lizard or scorpion in each of the spot illustrations. The author deftly utilizes repetition and familiar sight words to create a story about a situation most kids will recognize. Lulu is ready to learn and make new friends, but Sandy Witch boasts about what she has and what she already knows how to do. (She may be a bit jealous of Lulu’s skill on the broom or the compliment Lulu receives from the teacher about her new dress.) Sandy makes fun of Lulu and continually tries to outdo her. When Lulu wakes up with lizard pox and cannot go to school, she’s at first glad to be away from Sandy Witch but then quickly gets bored. While Lulu walks to school on her first day back, she decides to not let Sandy Witch’s comments about her spots unnerve her. But when Sandy Witch comes to class with her own set of spots, the two girls finally begin to mend their relationship.
While new readers will giggle at details such as the teacher’s name (Miss Slime) or the rat-liver sandwich Lulu eats for lunch, mostly they will appreciate the story, which resonates with their own experience. (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: July 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-223351-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
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Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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A holiday outing that doesn’t quite satisfy.
In this follow-up to singer Parton and co-author Perl’s Billy the Kid Makes It Big (2023), literal and figurative bumps in the road imperil the touring canine country star’s promise to be home for Christmas.
Inspired by one of Parton’s holiday songs, the tale sees Billy, a small brown French bulldog, and bandmates Bo, Buster, and Binky boarding a tour bus for “pawsome” glimpses of natural wonders along with meetings with fans and “puparazzi.” Then, although Billy has sent many letters home promising to be there for the holiday, an invitation to play Barkafeller Center on Christmas Day instantly changes his tune. “Billy was happy. Though he still felt a little…he wasn’t sure what.” Readers may be excused for having mixed feelings about his mixed feelings, not to mention his tersely unapologetic note to the folks. But when, thanks to a bus-busting rock in the road on Christmas Eve, it looks like the band will have to contrive their own celebration (“Silent night, howly night”), Billy remembers that he started making music in the first place for his loved ones. He has no problem bagging the big concert (Fans? What fans? Contract? What contract?) when Dolly herself rolls up in her own bus to offer a ride back to his “Tennessee mountain home” in time for a small show for “the most important audience in the world.” While Billy cuts an endearing figure in Haley’s cartoonish illustrations, his willingness to disappoint first family, then fans may have readers feeling less than cheery.
A holiday outing that doesn’t quite satisfy. (lyrics to Parton’s “Comin’ Home for Christmas”) (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780593755006
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
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