Guaranteed to get readers giggling (and scratching)
In the latest Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! title, a troupe of dinosaurs confronts an existential quandary.
“Dinosaurs do not scratch” reads the legend on a rock behind a napping tortoise. A bespectacled dino in T-shirt and shorts muses, “You learn something new every day.” It observes a triceratops about to scratch a scab and stops it: “Dinosaurs are TOUGH! We do not scratch!” It similarly corrects a pterodactyl with a bee sting, a sauropod with an itchy back, and a T. Rex with an irritating tag in the collar of its shirt. Demonstrating its toughness, it submits to various itch-producing indignities, including a wool sweater, “hair from my last haircut,” and a cat, and despite obviously mounting distress does not scratch. At this point, the tortoise gets up and moves away, revealing a concluding “alone” etched in the rock. Naturally, all the discussion of itching and not scratching has caused everyone to feel “ITCHY!”; happily, these dinosaurs are not alone, so they indulge in a massive orgy of scratching, the relief it brings signaled with cool blues that replace the itchy reds that had predominated. The silly premise and equally silly treatment are carried out in the series’ signature format, color-coded speech bubbles providing cues to both speakers and mood. The question of “why dinosaurs do not scratch alone” is never answered, but that’s hardly the point.
Guaranteed to get readers giggling (and scratching) . (Early reader. 5-9)Pub Date: May 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-368-00564-7
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
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It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Another empowering outing led by a dynamic young role model.
The third title in the Ambitious Girl series finds young Maya wanting accomplished women to get their due.
On a school trip to Washington, D.C., brown-skinned, bubble-braided Maya is full of questions, among them “How many representatives are there?” and, while checking out the statues and monuments, “Where are all the women?” Maya’s teacher tells her that they’ve seen all the “popular” statues and monuments. Maya is as dogged (“But what about Eleanor Roosevelt? Or Mary McLeod Bethune?”) as her teacher is dismissive: “Those aren’t on my list.” (Maya’s teacher follows the same list every trip.) Back at home, Maya is newly awakened to the lack of female representation in her orbit—she notices that streets and “even her own school” are named for men. Is there anything she can do about this? Maya’s teacher’s cluelessness feels a bit implausible, more like a plot device to steer the story in the right direction, but Maya’s righteous indignation is believable, and her corresponding activism will energize readers. Valdez gets into the spirit of things with her invigorating digital art: Maya and her multiethnic classmates and neighbors are colorful dressers with smiling faces, which fosters a sense that wherever Maya goes, a warm and ebullient community is there for her.
Another empowering outing led by a dynamic young role model. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9780316561341
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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