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RHYME CRIME

Name: RHYME CRIME
Author: Jon Burgerman
ISBN: 978-0-7352-2884-9

by Jon Burgerman ; illustrated by Jon Burgerman ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 3, 2018

Multiple readings might encourage new illogical rhyming sequences for even more hysterical laughter.

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Robbery here comes with rhyming wordplay.

“Once upon a time, / a thief committed a crime. / Everything he stole was replaced with a rhyme.” The thief takes pink, fuzzy Hammy’s hat and swaps it with a cat. The Silly Putty–like Marlow’s smile is replaced with a crocodile. As each new heist is announced on recto, the following verso reveals a new rhyming substitute that makes little sense, resulting in ridiculous fun. Matte colors in primary hues against a complementary solid background feature a motley assortment of black-outlined, googly-eyed, monsterlike characters from which various items are stolen by an equally strange-looking bandit dressed in jailbird black-and-white stripes. Tootle, a blue creature with green nose and limbs set against a pink backdrop, loses its dog, which is replaced by a barking log. Blue, birdlike Gertie’s pretty rainbow house, set against a sunny yellow background, is replaced by a giant gray mouse. The unexpected silliness of each larcenous conclusion will have kids stealing giggles and groans as this crook pilfers the normal order of sensible language on the way to an absurd, rhyming finale. Unable to find any match for Tumble’s orange (“Borange? Dorange? Porange?”), the burglar, momentarily stumped, is finally arrested and taken to jail—but an escape leaves readers to anticipate a new series of rhyming offenses.

Multiple readings might encourage new illogical rhyming sequences for even more hysterical laughter. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 3, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-7352-2884-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW TO EAT PIZZA
by Jon Burgerman ; illustrated by Jon Burgerman

- BOOK REVIEW
SPLAT!
by Jon Burgerman ; illustrated by Jon Burgerman

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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A BIKE LIKE SERGIO'S

by Maribeth Boelts ; illustrated by Noah Z. Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 2016

Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...

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Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.

This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.

Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)