An attractive and engaging chapter book with a canine hero.
A dog visits Svalbard and makes friends with a polar bear.
In this fifth installment of an early reader series, small canine Lindie Lou gets to tag along with her White owner, Bryan, on a research trip. Bryan and his colleagues travel to Svalbard to study the aurora borealis. When Lindie Lou arrives in the Norwegian archipelago, she discovers that her sister, Ruby, who belongs to another scientist, is also there. While the humans focus on their research, Lindie Lou and Ruby are left to their own devices. In the course of exploring the hotel, they meet a young polar bear named Nanook. Nanook gradually convinces the dogs that he means them no harm—in part, by showing them that he is friends with other potential prey, like a reindeer named Modig—and takes them to a nearby ice cave. They see the Northern Lights on many occasions, and relish their time in the Arctic. On one visit to the ice cave, Lindie Lou gets trapped there without her friends. But by barking to draw attention, she is able to get the other animals to rescue her, leaving the humans astounded when a polar bear and a reindeer appear outside the hotel with Lindie Lou riding on Nanook’s back. Bender’s story is upbeat and enjoyable, and although it has clearly didactic elements—including science, geography, and social and emotional learning—the lessons rarely take center stage. Colorful illustrations by Willows appear throughout the book, complementing the text, which is itself part of the work’s visual appeal. Many words appear in different colors, fonts, and orientations, often related to their meanings (lake, for instance, is displayed in a watery blue while smiledis curved). A few of the font choices, particularly the one used for speed-related words, can be difficult to decipher at first glance, but on the whole, the book is well designed for beginning readers. The blend of plot and information makes the volume both educational and entertaining for children.
An attractive and engaging chapter book with a canine hero.Pub Date: April 29, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-943493-35-7
Page Count: 284
Publisher: Pina Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Sure to have little ones giggling.
Jacques is a hedgehog with a big secret: “I wear real, bona fide underwear.”
Our narrator received a mysterious package one day; an illustration shows a pair of underwear tied to a balloon with a note “from the Universe” floating down into Jacques’ burrow. Hedgehogs don’t wear underwear, however. Will Jacques be shunned? Jacques worries but comes to a decision: “I have to wear them. When I do I feel special.” Determined, Jacques, who’s been invited to a party, makes a dramatic entrance, with undies in hand. Jacques’ declaration (“I WEAR UNDERWEAR”) is met with remarks of dismay, before another hedgehog opens up about similar fears and shows off a pair of cowboy boots. More hedgehogs introduce themselves with their own confessions. The story ends with Jacques unveiling a painting of the underwear in a gallery filled with hedgehogs wearing all sorts of attire. Though the book is simple in plot, characters, and setting, it wins in its balance of bathroom humor, dramatic storytelling, and celebrations of individual expression. French words are peppered throughout, adding to the fun without detracting from the story for those unfamiliar with the language. The cartoonish illustrations brim with fun; Valdez relies heavily on geometric shapes (triangle noses for the hedgehogs; huge circles for their eyes). Details such as speech bubbles and recurring turtle and snake characters contribute to the outlandish humor.
Sure to have little ones giggling. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 1, 2025
ISBN: 9781250814388
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
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While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
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