Both this title and its companion are good for reinforcing word families and building reading confidence, but sometimes a...
Bolger and Hodson explore phonics in cartoon form.
New readers encountering the opening sequence—“Cave Bear / Wave Bear // Lazy Bear / Crazy Bear”—will hardly be aware that they are supposed to be learning basic phonics because they will be giggling over the “wave” bear in surf shorts and the “crazy” bear with scissors cutting down the “lazy” bear’s hammock. On subsequent pages, the “crazy” bear, wearing an easy-to-see red-and-white–striped shirt as well as an offensively vapid smile, wreaks mild havoc. From the opening long A, each vowel is explored in subsequent chapters with occasional glosses from Gran, a bespectacled human grandmother who explains phonics rules in speech bubbles: “Long vowels say their own names.” Some of the vocabulary is quite challenging (“creature,” “relief,” “fuel”), adding an unexpected level of difficulty. Companion title Gran on a Fan uses rhyme to make its point with short vowels, but some of the choices (“bomb,” “mob,” “rob,” “cops”) take this book for emergent readers to some dark places that slapstick visual humor cannot save.
Both this title and its companion are good for reinforcing word families and building reading confidence, but sometimes a phonics book is just a phonics book . (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: June 23, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-228598-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
In the wake of Autumn (1997) and Spring (1999) come 26 more seasonal scenes, accompanying ingenious acrostic poems: "Blankets and umbrellas, / Endless miles of sand, / And one / Constant / Hum of wind and waves." In serene, neatly composed linoleum cuts filled with subtly modulated colors trimmed by the perfect use of the black line, Evans depicts shoreline and small town, gazebo, luxuriant gardens, and a picnic table crowded with goodies, all laid out for the enjoyment of a multiethnic cast of young folk. "Zigzag lines / Of stars / Divide the heavens / Into / Autumn's twinkling / Constellations," over a backyard campout to signal summer's end. It's another tour de force, as blissfully evocative as it is technically accomplished. Should be inspiration for classrooms, poets, and wordworkers. (Picture book/poetry. 6-8)
Pub Date: March 19, 2000
ISBN: 0-618-02372-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2001
By no means is this an introduction to the fairy tale. The book would be best used as a guessing game or a writing device...
Can the classic story of Goldilocks be parsed into an alphabet book—successfully?
The answer is yes and no. The adaptation singles out key words to construct an alliterative alphabet tale that follows the original plot, but not all are logical choices. Some are obvious, while some are forced. Successful examples include “B is for bears. There were three bears—Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Baby Bear, who were in bed” and “G is for a girl named Goldilocks.” But it’s hard to stretch the conceit out over 26 letters. “E is for exit. Everyone exited.” “I is for inside, where Goldilocks went.” K is for kitchen; Q is for question; T is for ta-dah (upon Baby Bear’s discovery of Goldilocks); U is for up (Goldilocks jumps up); V is for very (frightened); X “marks the exact spot where she landed” (after jumping out of the window). The sprightly, vividly colored illustrations are comic in style, with the bears wearing clothing and Goldilocks sporting a wild mane of blonde hair (it is worth noting that her skin is light brown). Each alphabet letter is in a large, blocky display type with a faux–wood grain look.
By no means is this an introduction to the fairy tale. The book would be best used as a guessing game or a writing device for kids who already know the story. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 9780807579046
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
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