The slapstick illustrations and the chatty narrative are sure to appeal to transitioning readers and to children who both...
Spoiled Lulu is writhing in the throes of a titanic tantrum.
Readers familiar with little Lulu and this droll early chapter book series won’t be surprised by her wails at all, but the catalyst of this particular fit might stop them in their tracks: a baby sister! Children facing such a seismic family change will immediately understand her fears and frustrations. “Why in the world would they need another child? And why would they want a girl, when they’ve already GOT a girl, namely Lulu, who totally had this girl-in-the-family thing covered?” While understanding (or even believing) Lulu’s extraordinarily rude, smug behavior remains challenging throughout the short, flip chapters of this book, empathizing with her quite-common worries about a new sibling is easy. Her parents’ decision to send her to Camp Sisterhood, a sleep-away camp that prepares girls to act as kind, loving older siblings by pairing them with little-kid stand-ins, doesn’t seem such a bad idea. As it did in Lulu’s Mysterious Mission (2014), Cornell’s artwork quite aptly captures Lulu’s ugly antics and their effects on her audience. Funny grimaces, saucer eyes, furrowed brows, and frowns abound; Lulu and her family seem to be white, while the campers are a diverse group.
The slapstick illustrations and the chatty narrative are sure to appeal to transitioning readers and to children who both love and endure a sibling. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7190-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Gently models kindness and respect—positive behavior that can be applied daily.
A group of young “dinosauruses” go out into the world on their own.
A fuchsia little Hugasaurus and her Pappysaur (both of whom resemble Triceratops) have never been apart before, but Hugasaurus happily heads off with lunchbox in hand and “wonder in her heart” to make new friends. The story has a first-day-of-school feeling, but Hugasaurus doesn’t end up in a formal school environment; rather, she finds herself on a playground with other little prehistoric creatures, though no teacher or adult seems to be around. At first, the new friends laugh and play. But Hugasaurus’ pals begin to squabble, and play comes to a halt. As she wonders what to do, a fuzzy platypus playmate asks some wise questions (“What…would your Pappy say to do? / What makes YOU feel better?”), and Hugasaurus decides to give everyone a hug—though she remembers to ask permission first. Slowly, good humor is restored and play begins anew with promises to be slow to anger and, in general, to help create a kinder world. Short rhyming verses occasionally use near rhyme but also include fun pairs like ripples and double-triples. Featuring cozy illustrations of brightly colored creatures, the tale sends a strong message about appropriate and inappropriate ways to resolve conflict, the final pages restating the lesson plainly in a refrain that could become a classroom motto. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Gently models kindness and respect—positive behavior that can be applied daily. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-82869-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
A straightforward tale of conflict and reconciliation for newly emergent readers? Not exactly, which raises it above the...
In this deceptively spare, very beginning reader, a girl assembles a robot and then treats it like a slave until it goes on strike.
Having put the robot together from a jumble of loose parts, the budding engineer issues an increasingly peremptory series of rhymed orders— “Throw, Bot. / Row, Bot”—that turn from playful activities like chasing bubbles in the yard to tasks like hoeing the garden, mowing the lawn and towing her around in a wagon. Jung crafts a robot with riveted edges, big googly eyes and a smile that turns down in stages to a scowl as the work is piled on. At last, the exhausted robot plops itself down, then in response to its tormentor’s angry “Don’t say no, Bot!” stomps off in a huff. In one to four spacious, sequential panels per spread, Jung develops both the plotline and the emotional conflict using smoothly modeled cartoon figures against monochromatic or minimally detailed backgrounds. The child’s commands, confined in small dialogue balloons, are rhymed until her repentant “Come on home, Bot” breaks the pattern but leads to a more equitable division of labor at the end.
A straightforward tale of conflict and reconciliation for newly emergent readers? Not exactly, which raises it above the rest. (Easy reader. 4-6)Pub Date: June 25, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-87083-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
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