Simple, elegant design produces a title with high appeal for the preschool set.
Young Sophie is portrayed with yellow hair and a red dress and smiles out at readers as the story begins. Soon she makes the acquaintance of a most amiable goose.
Sophie is like many girls. She enjoys her dolls and dressing up. But sometimes she is lonely playing by herself. Even when her mother takes her to the park, she opts for the slide and swings instead of the seesaw. “Sophie wishes she had a friend to play with.” On the facing page is an ovular bit of golden yellow on the right that catches the narrator’s attention: “But wait. What’s that?” The page turn reveals Sophie’s surprised excitement at meeting Goose. They play all day. “When it is time to go home, Goose wants to come, too.” Unfortunately, Mom, always pictured from the hip down, disagrees. But Goose is at the park the next day. They play until Goose sees some of his fellow geese heading south. Saddened, Goose and Sophie give each other a fierce goodbye hug. Thankfully, their parting is short-lived—and this time, Mom says he can come home. Wall’s spare text allows her thick-lined, childlike illustrations to fully convey the tale’s emotional arc. The white and yellow used for both Sophie and Goose glow brilliantly against the vibrant hues chosen for the background.
Simple, elegant design produces a title with high appeal for the preschool set. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-232435-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2014
While children should not expect a Bully Goat to change his ways so quickly, this does provide them with some tools against...
Llama Llama loves the fun things he gets to do at school, but will a Bully Goat ruin his day?
Writing, drawing, counting, playing with clay, singing songs during circle time—what’s not to love about school? Well, being called names and laughed at for clapping and singing along, for one thing. Being the target of sand that’s kicked and dirt that’s thrown for another. Teacher has already made it clear that Gilroy Goat’s name-calling will not be tolerated, but Teacher isn’t near the sandbox. What will Llama Llama and Nelly Gnu do? Stand up to him, of course: “Gilroy, this is not OK. / Stop it, or we’ll go away.” They then walk away and tell a teacher. After Gilroy’s requisite lecture and long timeout, kindly Llama Llama approaches him, offering to let him play. While the resolution is too pat, and everyone gets over their feelings unbelievably quickly, still, Dewdney’s lovable Llama Llama offers children one strategy to combat bullying, all couched in her trademark rhyming verse and presented through situations that are sure to resonate with those new-to-school. Her textured oil, colored-pencil and oil-pastel illustrations shine when portraying the animals’ faces—joy, discomfort, surprise, anger, stubbornness, disappointment are all crystal-clear on them.
While children should not expect a Bully Goat to change his ways so quickly, this does provide them with some tools against bullying. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-670-01395-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s rare to find a real story in a book that brand-new readers can tackle alone—Anna and Toto and the cowboy certainly...
In this German import, Little Anna and her dog have an adventure at the beach.
Anna loves her dog, Toto. When she takes him to the beach, Toto’s scarf matches Anna’s skirt and kerchief: red with white polka dots. As Anna heads toward the water, she passes “a boy in a very silly cowboy hat.” Readers may feel that Anna is a bit silly herself. Toto is not a live dog but a wooden Dalmatian on wheels that must be pulled by a rope. When Toto “learns to swim,” he’s dragged out to the deep water by a wave, and Anna is bereft. Luckily, that silly cowboy has more than a hat with him, and Toto is saved, opening the way to friendship. Saturated digital illustrations have a hand-drawn feel that creates a warm, homey atmosphere. The droll storyline respects the young readers who will no doubt chuckle when Toto is subtly revealed to be a beloved toy rather than a real pup. Even the cowboy, whose body and rope are hidden behind the grown-up beachgoers, is a pleasant surprise. His eyes might be concealed beneath that enormous hat, but his good spirit is clear.
It’s rare to find a real story in a book that brand-new readers can tackle alone—Anna and Toto and the cowboy certainly deliver. (Early reader. 3-5)Pub Date: May 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3202-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
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