A tame adventure tale but a warm buddy story.
Do pencils have lives of their own? Yes, though at times they may seem pointless.
Shockingly, Pencil is dull. Not dull as in “uninteresting” but dull as in “needs sharpening.” Pencil dramatically imagines owner Stella (represented by a brown hand) rejecting such a useless writing implement. Eraser’s terse advice: “Sharpen up.” But how will they get from Stella’s classroom desk all the way to the sharpener on the teacher’s desk? Pencil (briefly sporting a fedora) narrates in the style of an old-fashioned adventure tale. Reserved, laconic Eraser finds the voluble and excited Pencil a bit overwhelming, and, faced with Pencil’s multi-step plan, Eraser rubs it out in favor of a simpler idea: They’ll use the teacher’s chair to climb up (a scene that mostly occurs off the page). Alas! The sharpener is broken. After taking one of several groan-worthy joke breaks, they look for another sharpener. Once more, Pencil has plenty of far-fetched ideas, all of which Eraser dismisses. Will they ever find the coveted sharpener? Very simple drawings depict Pencil as tall and skinny, with fluttery eyelashes; short, stumpy Eraser is pink and white, with cynical half-lidded eyes. The faces are expressive and the typeface clear. While the tale’s a bit light on action, the duo’s comic interplay is sure to win over readers.
A tame adventure tale but a warm buddy story. (drawing instructions) (Early graphic fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9780593699768
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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