Three cheers for Norman the amazing goldfish—and this charming story!
Norman the goldfish is an amazing pet. He can perform several tricks in his bowl and even sing, but there’s one thing Norman can’t do: perform for others.
On the day of the Pet-O-Rama pet talent show, Norman and his human (who narrates) get in line to participate. Once inside, Norman and the child meet Ben and Dylan with their dog, Mustard, who does karate. Ben and Dylan taunt Norman and his pal, but the child is undaunted, ready to prove to everyone just how “amazing” Norman is. When it’s Norman’s turn, the child tries hard to get the fish to perform, but the duo falls short with one failed trick after another. Poor Norman has stage fright. Here, Jones’ cartoon illustrations of the comically panic-stricken goldfish, dorsal fin drooping, will elicit both chuckles and sympathy. The protagonist gives Norman a bit of a pep talk, pulls out a tuba (rather magically, as it did not seem to travel to the talent show with the pair), plays a song, and finally gets Norman to show everyone just how amazing he is. This is a fun read whether shared with a group or a child in a lap. The story moves quickly, and the bright, mostly full-bleed artwork will keep the attention of young readers. Norman’s human presents Black, and the supporting cast is diverse.
Three cheers for Norman the amazing goldfish—and this charming story! (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0671-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories.
Kids know vegetables can be scary, but rarely are edible roots out to get someone. In this whimsical mock-horror tale, carrots nearly frighten the whiskers off Jasper Rabbit, an interloper at Crackenhopper Field.
Jasper loves carrots, especially those “free for the taking.” He pulls some in the morning, yanks out a few in the afternoon, and comes again at night to rip out more. Reynolds builds delicious suspense with succinct language that allows understatements to be fully exploited in Brown’s hilarious illustrations. The cartoon pictures, executed in pencil and then digitally colored, are in various shades of gray and serve as a perfectly gloomy backdrop for the vegetables’ eerie orange on each page. “Jasper couldn’t get enough carrots … / … until they started following him.” The plot intensifies as Jasper not only begins to hear the veggies nearby, but also begins to see them everywhere. Initially, young readers will wonder if this is all a product of Jasper’s imagination. Was it a few snarling carrots or just some bathing items peeking out from behind the shower curtain? The ending truly satisfies both readers and the book’s characters alike. And a lesson on greed goes down like honey instead of a forkful of spinach.
Serve this superbly designed title to all who relish slightly scary stories. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0297-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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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