A tartan twist on an old standard with plenty of humor both visual and verbal.
Everyone knows about King Midas’ golden touch, but what about Madison Pratt’s tartan touch?
When Madison picks up a plaid purse in the park, “Her fingers tingled. / Her thumbs were hot. / Her arm started twitching and itching a lot. / Then the plaid from the purse crept slowly up her sleeve” and eventually covers all her clothing. Madison even weeps plaid tears at her plaid predicament. Her mother, a nurse, consults How To Cure a Plaid Curse, of course. Madison tries to comply with the remedy, but “a little plaid burp escaped her lips,” and giggleworthy cartoon illustrations of plaid houses, cars, trees, poodles, and even squirrels capture the “plaid germ” spreading throughout the town. Madison races to the park to find the purse again so they can “reverse the plaidening curse!” Turning the purse inside out to hide the plaid reveals a “sad shade of blue,” which infects Madison, the town, and the illustrations with the blues. But luckily, Madison knows how to “cure the blues”: by singing “an extra-silly round of ‘Piddly-diddly-doo’s,” which spreads silliness from place to place. “And as you probably already knew, / with a silly grin on, you CAN’T stay blue!” Readers will pore over the illustrations, which range from typical city scenes to spreads amusingly infected with the “plaid germ” and the blues before returning to normal. Madison and her mother present white, and their community includes individuals with skin tones and hairstyles that suggest diversity.
A tartan twist on an old standard with plenty of humor both visual and verbal. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-17244-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle...
Making things is difficult work. Readers will recognize the stages of this young heroine’s experience as she struggles to realize her vision.
First comes anticipation. The artist/engineer is spotted jauntily pulling a wagonload of junkyard treasures. Accompanied by her trusty canine companion, she begins drawing plans and building an assemblage. The narration has a breezy tone: “[S]he makes things all the time. Easy-peasy!” The colorful caricatures and creations contrast with the digital black outlines on a white background that depict an urban neighborhood. Intermittent blue-gray panels break up the white expanses on selected pages showing sequential actions. When the first piece doesn’t turn out as desired, the protagonist tries again, hoping to achieve magnificence. A model of persistence, she tries many adjustments; the vocabulary alone offers constructive behaviors: she “tinkers,” “wrenches,” “fiddles,” “examines,” “stares” and “tweaks.” Such hard work, however, combines with disappointing results, eventually leading to frustration, anger and injury. Explosive emotions are followed by defeat, portrayed with a small font and scaled-down figures. When the dog, whose expressions have humorously mirrored his owner’s through each phase, retrieves his leash, the resulting stroll serves them well. A fresh perspective brings renewed enthusiasm and—spoiler alert—a most magnificent scooter sidecar for a loyal assistant.
Spires’ understanding of the fragility and power of the artistic impulse mixes with expert pacing and subtle characterization for maximum delight. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-55453-704-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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