by Jason Tharp & J.B. Rose ; illustrated by Jason Tharp ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 27, 2018
Doesn’t rise to the top of the school-and-friendship barrel.
It’s the first day of school, and cat Peachy is finally old enough to join Happy Tails School’s student newspaper.
When Peachy finds out the paper has been shuttered, she’s devastated. How will she fulfill her dream of being a star reporter? Principal Trunx, an elephant (obviously), tells her no one reads the paper anymore; they’re focused on their phones (Chimpstagram is quite popular). Peachy comes up with a brilliant idea: she’ll start a digital magazine her classmates can read on their (bizarrely named) PinePhones. However, there’s a caveat—school rules require all clubs to have at least six members. So far, it’s just Peachy and her best friend fur-ever, Keen, a perpetually hungry pup who’s fond of wearing costumes to school, so the two set out to recruit members for Purrfect9. To Peachy’s dismay, Keen makes false promises—free gold and red-carpet access—to gain members, but fortunately, their recruits stick around. It looks like Peachy’s dream is coming true, but when Keen publishes a cartoon that perfectionist Peachy didn’t approve, their friendship—and Purrfect9’s fate—is put to the test. Puns, irony, and wordplay make up much of the third-person narration; the full-color spot art is Saturday morning cartoon–cute. The plot and concepts feel very middle school, at odds with the low page count and young look.
Doesn’t rise to the top of the school-and-friendship barrel. (Fiction. 5-9)Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-11043-2
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 29, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
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by Tedd Arnold ; illustrated by Tedd Arnold ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2013
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity.
Buzz and his buzzy buddy open a spinoff series of nonfiction early readers with an aquarium visit.
Buzz: “Like other fish, sharks breathe through gills.” Fly Guy: “GILLZZ.” Thus do the two pop-eyed cartoon tour guides squire readers past a plethora of cramped but carefully labeled color photos depicting dozens of kinds of sharks in watery settings, along with close-ups of skin, teeth and other anatomical features. In the bite-sized blocks of narrative text, challenging vocabulary words like “carnivores” and “luminescence” come with pronunciation guides and lucid in-context definitions. Despite all the flashes of dentifrice and references to prey and smelling blood in the water, there is no actual gore or chowing down on display. Sharks are “so cool!” proclaims Buzz at last, striding out of the gift shop. “I can’t wait for our next field trip!” (That will be Fly Guy Presents: Space, scheduled for September 2013.)
A first-rate sharkfest, unusually nutritious for all its brevity. (Informational easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-50771-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
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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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