Mary Clare (who has red hair) is a kind little girl who is the soul of generosity. As a structure for introducing the concept of fractions, she shares various food treats with her friends and family. The simple, rhyming text proceeds in logical numerical progression, from one pear divided into two halves, through a muffin divided into thirds, on up to Mary Clare’s birthday cake divided into ten slices. An additional math concept that is cleverly and clearly conveyed shows that Mary Clare must count herself in the number of slices or pieces needed (for example, five cousins arrive for a visit, so the total is now six children and each will get one-sixth of an orange). What could be a boring and didactic exercise in fractional story problems is instead a witty easy reader, combining breezy rhymes with cheerful illustrations of children of many different ethnicities. (Easy reader. 5-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2006
ISBN: 0-375-83421-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006
This candy-colored tribute to cats starts with a particular cat bemoaning, in verse, its lot compared to a dog’s life. Dogs go for those long walks, yip and yap, chase crooks, and get all the plum roles in Hollywood. Then the cat’s mistress intervenes: “Silly old cat,/If your wish did come true,/You’d have to do things/You wouldn’t want to do.” Chewing bones, being led around on a leash, fetching, and performing silly tricks are among the disadvantages mentioned; next, the advantages are enumerated, such as seeing in the dark, catching mice, climbing trees, pouncing, and “In sunny spots and soft places/Cats like to take naps,/And they’re just the right size/For cuddling in laps.” Readers will be firmly converted to the superiority of the cat’s life, and pleasingly distracted by the high-wattage collage artwork. (Picture book. 3-7)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8037-2338-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Demarest (Plane, 1995, etc.) abandons his familiar minimalist cartoons for a more elaborate style in this tribute to the cowboy mythos. Captioned by a rhymed alphabet—“A is for Appaloosa, a trusty steed. B is for Buckaroo, who rides at top speed”—the scenes depict a crew of cowhands (of both sexes) working horses, cattle, and sheep through a series of unspoiled, wide-open landscapes. Rendering chaps and stetsons, nighthawks and prairie dogs in loving detail, Demarest captures that rugged, outdoorsy life at its most romanticized, and will leave readers itching to saddle up. (Picture book. 6-7)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7894-2509-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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