by Kate McMullan ; illustrated by Jim McMullan ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2017
Takes credit away from the human bus drivers, who deserve a book of their own.
As Adam Rex and Christian Robinson’s School’s First Day of School (2016) gave readers a school building’s point of view, the McMullans now give kids a peek inside the mind of a school bus.
This bus is bold and in-your-face, trying almost too hard to be cool; it’s a persona that slightly clashes with the bus’ sway back, toothy grille grin, and huge windshield eyes. “Who am I? / Smarter than a rocket scientist, / More powerful than a monster truck, / able to halt traffic with the flick of a switch.” This bus only has three stops (shown on an aerial view of the town), so riders board in long lines. Other than noting that cars have to slow down for the bus’s amber flashing lights and stop for the red ones (or else get a ticket, as one speeding auto does), there are no safety rules here. The bus does have to wait its turn to get by a construction area, and it keeps the kids from getting rowdy by asking them questions: a raised hand signals yes. Another staple of bus riding gets a spread: going over a bump. In Jim McMullan’s watercolor illustration, the bus is shown in profile with the side removed, and the kids are hovering above their seats, motion lines showing the bounce and smiles on their faces. All in all, this feels like a pale dilution of the creators’ zippy first in this series, I Stink! (2002).
Takes credit away from the human bus drivers, who deserve a book of their own. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-244923-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
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by Tanya Valentine ; illustrated by Jorge Martín ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2019
Slight and contrived.
A little orange food truck parks in the same place every day, bringing tacos to hungry construction workers—till one morning, a falafel truck takes his spot.
Miss Falafel then brings by more of her friends, crowding out the taco truck. Little Taco Truck whines and cries, but after four days of being shut out by the bigger trucks, he finally takes the initiative. He spends the night in his former parking space, defending his territory when the other trucks arrive. The rest immediately apologize, and after some creative maneuvering, everyone fits—even the newly arrived noodle truck. Valentine’s naïve call for cooperation glosses over the very real problem of urban gentrification represented by the flood of bigger and better-equipped trucks taking over the neighborhood. When the taco truck is the only game in town, the food line consists of hard-hatted construction workers. Then, as falafel, arepa, gelato, hot dog, and gumbo trucks set up shop, professionals and hipsters start showing up. (All the customers are depicted as animals.) The author also inadvertently equates tacos with a lack of sophistication. “ ‘Hola, Miss Fal…Fal…’ Little Taco Truck tried to sound out the words on the side of the other truck.” Sadly, the truck sells Americanized crisp-shelled tacos. Even the glossary ignores the culinary versatility and cultural authenticity of the soft taco with this oversimplified and inaccurate definition: “A crispy Mexican corn pancake folded or rolled around a filling of meat, beans, and cheese.”
Slight and contrived. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6585-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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by Jarrett Pumphrey & Jerome Pumphrey ; illustrated by Jarrett Pumphrey & Jerome Pumphrey ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 2, 2021
A quiet, thought-provoking story of environmental change and the power humans have to slow it.
A multigenerational tale of a boat’s life with a Black family, written by two brothers who loved similar boats.
In the opening spread, a smiling, brown-skinned adult dangles a line from the back of a green-and-white boat while a boy peers eagerly over the side at the sea life. The text never describes years passing, but each page turn reveals the boy’s aging, more urban development on the shore, increasing water pollution, marine-life changes (sea jellies abound on one page), and shifting water levels. Eventually, the boy, now a teenager, steers the boat, and as an adult, he fishes alone but must go farther and farther out to sea to make his catch. One day, the man loses his way, capsizes in a storm, and washes up on a small bay island, with the overturned, sunken boat just offshore. Now a “new sailor” cleans up the land and water with others’ help. The physical similarities between the shipwrecked sailor and the “new sailor” suggest that this is not a new person but one whose near-death experience has led to an epiphany that changes his relationship to water. As the decaying boat becomes a new marine habitat, the sailor teaches the next generation (a child with hair in two Afro puffs) to fish. Focusing primarily on the sea, the book’s earth-toned illustrations, created with hundreds of stamps, carry the compelling plot.
A quiet, thought-provoking story of environmental change and the power humans have to slow it. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-324-00517-9
Page Count: 56
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
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