A comforting approach to interpersonal conflict.
A hamster learns to express himself in Lockwood’s picture book about feelings and community.
Harrison the hamster’s day starts off badly when Billy, a goose, won’t make room for him on the school boat. Later, when Harrison asks to play, Billy calls him weird because he looks different (“Some of the muscles in my face don’t move,” Harrison explains). When Harrison tells his mother about Billy’s meanness, she assures him he’ll find other friends. With the support of his parents, an owl classmate, and the school counselor, Harrison learns to say “Ouch” when his feelings are hurt, and “Oops” when he makes a mistake. The next time Billy is mean, Harrison uses the code—he says, “Ouch,” and he’s surprised when Billy says, “Oops.” This shared language allows Harrison to give Billy another chance and open the door to a potential friendship. Lockwood shows how important it is for youngsters to have a shared way of expressing their feelings. The reliable support Harrison receives from adults is encouraging, reminding young readers that they can turn to their community if they need help. Most pages have spare, simple text; while some are wordier, most of the language is accessible, with some aspirational vocabulary that may make this book more appropriate for lap readers. Illustrator Erokhina’s animal characters are expressive, though Harrison’s facial structure does not always look consistent. The soft watercolor and ink images create a cozy forest setting that feels safe.
A comforting approach to interpersonal conflict.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781964836041
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Acorn Cottage Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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