by Kate Banks & illustrated by Tomek Bogacki ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 11, 2008
Banks and Bogacki team up again (Mama’s Coming Home, 2003, etc.), this time with their first book for new readers, which is also the first book in the Monkey Readers series. Monkey brothers Max and Pete convince their parents that they are mature enough to get a dog. They promise to share the responsibilities and are overjoyed when brown-and-white Fudge joins the family. But after the initial excitement wears off Pete leaves the dog care to his little brother, and soon Fudge shows a preference for Max. In the end, both brothers and dog learn subtle lessons about responsibility and rewards. The large number of words per page might be daunting for the newest reader, but the endearing characters and appealing plot will encourage them to return to the monkey brothers again and again. The enticing “1” on the spine means the monkey brothers may well return for many more adventures; let’s hope so. For readers who are ready for a step up in difficulty from Henry and Mudge. (Reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-374-35029-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2008
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by Doreen Cronin & illustrated by Harry Bliss ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2005
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
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by Andrew Clements & illustrated by R.W. Alley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 23, 2005
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
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