by Jared Chapman ; illustrated by Jared Chapman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2015
Whether readers extrapolate from Steve’s experiences to their own is open to question, but the story’s message of the need...
As the title indicates, Chapman plays with the raised-by-wolves trope in this first-day-of-school book.
As might be expected of a feral child, Steve’s transition to school is not a smooth one, despite a pep talk from his wolf mother (“just be yourself”). A day of mayhem yields scowls from his classmates and a note from his teacher. The next day does not go much better, but his mother is determined that he keep at it. On the third, though, “Steve’s wolf instincts” save the day when he follows his nose to the lost class hamster. (Happily, he does not then eat it.) Chapman’s bright, flat digital cartoons depict Steve as a towheaded white child with a protruding lower canine; Steve’s kindergarten class is nicely multiethnic, including his brown-skinned teacher. Although Chapman doesn’t take the scenario as far as it could go—somehow these wolves have acquired clothing for Steve and more or less trained him to wear it—he still generates quite a few laughs. From his dead-bird sandwich (wings protruding from the bread) and his habit of sitting on his haunches and howling to his gleeful marking of the playground slide, Steve’s wolflike behavior will have children giggling.
Whether readers extrapolate from Steve’s experiences to their own is open to question, but the story’s message of the need to balance individuality with group expectations is neatly presented. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-316-25390-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
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by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 4, 2014
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends
Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler—heck, every human: “Waiting is not easy!”
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the “surprise is a surprise.” Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it’s big, it’s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty “GROAN!” Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. “WE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!…And for WHAT!?” Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges “was worth the wait.” Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can’t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald’s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.
A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends . (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9957-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
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by Mo Willems ; illustrated by Mo Willems
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by Aaron Reynolds ; illustrated by Peter Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 22, 2017
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
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Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
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