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I SEE YOU, GREEN DINOSAUR

Name: I SEE YOU, GREEN DINOSAUR
Author: Kat Pigott
ISBN: 978-1-4556-2418-8

by Kat Pigott ; illustrated by Mason Sibley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 15, 2019

Heavy on agenda, light on psychological insight.

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Even when he’s just imaginary, a T. Rex can be a big help when dealing with a bully.

Only Kole can see him, but the hulking, green, mean-looking holdover from the special Dinosaur Pancakes (2016) that Nana made pops up on the school bus, in the bath, in bed, even in church. Annoying! But when, one day, a big new kid named Leon comes on aggressively in the hallway, the toothy dino does his thing—handing Kole one of Nana’s apples, that is, and nodding at Kole “as if to say, ‘It will be OK. Just talk to him.’ ” One friendly greeting and an invitation to come over later for some green dinosaur pancakes, and the bully is transformed into at least a potential friend. Easy! “A bully sets out each day to hurt other people,” Pigott concludes with drastic oversimplification, going on to add contradictory advice to seek help, to tell a grown-up, or to face bullies down directly, try to make friends with them, and inform them that “they don’t need to be mean to be cool.” Kole and Leon are both white in Sibley’s expressive, if garishly colored, cartoon illustrations, but figures in group scenes show some racial and ethnic diversity.

Heavy on agenda, light on psychological insight. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4556-2418-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Pelican

Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S DINOSAURS & PREHISTORIC CREATURES | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

THE ONE AND ONLY SPARKELLA AND THE BIG LIE

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THE ONE AND ONLY SPARKELLA AND THE BIG LIE

From the Sparkella series , Vol. 3

by Channing Tatum ; illustrated by Kim Barnes ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 30, 2023

An awesome-tastic invitation to have or share thoughts about bad and better choices.

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Actor Tatum’s effervescent heroine steals a friend’s toy and then lies about it.

Thrilled about an upcoming play date with new classmate Wyatt, Sparkella considers her own sparkly stuffies, games, and accessories and silently decides that he’d be more interested in her friend Tam’s remote-controlled minicar. While she and Tam are playing together, Sparkella takes the car when Tam isn’t looking. Tam melts down at school the next day, and Sparkella, seeing her “bestest friend” losing her sparkle, feels “icky, oogy, and blech.” And when Wyatt comes over, he turns out to be far more entranced by glittery goods than some old car. When Sparkella yells at him—“WYATT, YOU HAVE TO PLAY WITH THIS CAR RIGHT NOW!”—her dad overhears and asks where the toy came from…and along with being a thief, Sparkella turns out to be the worst. Liar. Ever. She eventually confesses (her dad forgives her), apologizes (ditto Wyatt and even Tam), and goes on to take part in a three-way play date/sparklefest. Her absolution may come with unlikely ease, but it’s comfortingly reassuring, and her model single dad does lay down a solid parental foundation by allowing that everyone makes mistakes and stressing that she is “never going to be punished for telling the truth in this house.” He and Sparkella present White, a previous entry cued brown-skinned Tam as Asian, and Wyatt has brown skin in Barnes’ candy-hued pictures. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An awesome-tastic invitation to have or share thoughts about bad and better choices. (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: May 30, 2023

ISBN: 9781250750778

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
THE ONE AND ONLY SPARKELLA MAKES A PLAN
by Channing Tatum ; illustrated by Kim Barnes

- BOOK REVIEW
THE ONE AND ONLY SPARKELLA
by Channing Tatum ; illustrated by Kim Barnes

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THE MINIATURE WORLD OF MARVIN & JAMES

From the Masterpiece Adventures series , Vol. 1

by Elise Broach ; illustrated by Kelly Murphy ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 25, 2014

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The boy-and-beetle friendship first introduced in Broach’s charming novel Masterpiece (2010) is now the cornerstone of an illustrated chapter-book series.

James is a boy, and Marvin is a beetle, but with the help of Marvin’s drawing skills, they find a way to communicate. James’ mom worries that her son’s best friend is an insect, but tiny Marvin has the opposite worry—that James will find human friends who supplant him. When James takes off on a beach vacation, Marvin frets even more, but he manages to have a few adventures of his own, like getting trapped inside Mr. Pompaday’s electric pencil sharpener with his beetle cousin Elaine. At first it’s entertaining to frolic among the shavings, but when an unanticipated pencil clogs the exit hole, there’s big trouble. Murphy clearly revels in the Borrowers-style perspective of the beetles’ miniature world: In their under-sink home, Marvin’s drawing table is a die, and a propped-up birthday-cake candle dwarfs the family. The dramatic, blow-by-blow pencil-sharpener incident dominates the story, but it circles back to friendship. James really did miss Marvin after all, and a souvenir seashell (the perfect beetle hideout!) seals the deal. This winsome series debut is both a sweet story of cross-species friendship and a sobering new way to look at pencil sharpeners. (Fantasy. 6-8)