A whimsical, engaging, beautifully illustrated celebration of imagining the future—obstacles and all.
Four children follow their dreams of future professions in this rhyming picture book.
Kids are frequently asked what they want to be when they grow up. Wonders’ inquisitive narrator asks the pictured children: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?” In Nasi’s creative, painterly illustrations, the four kids—all with different skin tones and features—face reflections of imagined careers as a chef, inventor, pilot, and artist. In the following pages, their dreams help them to see future possibilities: They are small, but shine brightly; with determination, they will reach their goals; and despite setbacks, they will get up and move forward. The author’s rhymes scan well throughout, and the sometimes-challenging vocabulary (freewheeling, thespian) makes this a good choice for independent readers looking to stretch their skills. Nasi’s watercolors, with inventive landscapes and backgrounds for the four children, are captivating and will invite young readers to inspect each page for details. Wonders’ rhyming list of possible professions is accompanied by the four main kids and several others sporting various costumes or holding props to signify each job (with no gender bias in the occupations). The images are repeated in the end pages with a guessing game for readers to figure out which youngsters have dreamed each career.
A whimsical, engaging, beautifully illustrated celebration of imagining the future—obstacles and all.Pub Date: June 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-3-907130-16-2
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Gmuer Verlag
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Certain to steal hearts.
In this follow-up to 2020’s The One and Only Bob, Ruby the elephant is still living at Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary.
She’s apprehensive about her Tuskday, a rite of passage for young elephants when she’ll give a speech in front of the rest of the herd. Luckily, she can confide in her Uncle Ivan, who is next door in Gorilla World, and Uncle Bob, the dog who lives nearby with human friend Julia. Ruby was born in an unspecified part of Africa, later ending up on display in the mall, where she met Ivan, Bob, and Julia. The unexpected arrival of someone from Ruby’s past life on the savanna revives memories both warmly nostalgic and deeply traumatic. An elephant glossary and Castelao’s charming, illustrated guide to elephant body language help immerse readers in Ruby’s world. Goofy, playful, and mischievous Ruby is fully dimensional, as she has shown her bravery during the many hardships of her young life. Applegate deftly tempers themes of grief and loss with compassion and humor as Ruby finds her place in the herd. The author’s note touches on climate change, the illegal ivory trade, and conservation efforts, but the highly emotive framing of the story through the memories of a bewildered baby elephant emphasizes the impact of lines such as “ ‘in Africa,’ I say softly, ‘there were bad people,’ ” without offering readers a nuanced understanding of the broader context that drives poaching.
Certain to steal hearts. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780063080089
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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