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A PAIR OF RED SNEAKERS

Name: A PAIR OF RED SNEAKERS
Author: Lisa Lawston
ISBN: 0-531-30104-4

by Lisa Lawston & illustrated by BB Sams ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1998

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A distinctly Seussian flavor pervades this rollicking rhymed-prose debut. Young Miles saunters into a shoe store and informs the clerk that he wants a pair of red sneakers with some special attributes, namely, “long attachable toes for building tree houses with views of rainbows . . . bouncers for jumping and soaring, with oversized pouncers for safely exploring basketball hoops, rooftops and stars,” as well as with wheels, umbrellas, big erasers, and other options. The illustrator suits action to words in speckled, busy cartoon illustrations, in which Miles is envisioned in the shoes of his dreams, kicking back triumphantly as one attachment after another sprouts from his hightops. When the salesman regretfully tells him that they have the style he’s seeking, but not in red, Miles’s disappointment lasts but a moment, and he sails out of the store in a pair of rocket-assisted blue sandals. Readers will never look at their footwear in quite the same way. (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998

ISBN: 0-531-30104-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Orchard

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1998

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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THE BEST CHEF IN SECOND GRADE

by Katharine Kenah & illustrated by Abby Carter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2007

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An impending school visit by a celebrity chef sends budding cook Ollie into a tailspin. He and his classmates are supposed to bring a favorite family food for show and tell, but his family doesn’t have a clear choice—besides, his little sister Rosy doesn’t like much of anything. What to do? As in their previous two visits to Room 75, Kenah builds suspense while keeping the tone light, and Carter adds both bright notes of color and familiar home and school settings in her cartoon illustrations. Eventually, Ollie winkles favorite ingredients out of his clan, which he combines into a mac-and-cheese casserole with a face on top that draws delighted praise from the class’s renowned guest. As Ollie seems to do his kitchen work without parental assistance, a cautionary tip or two (and maybe a recipe) might not have gone amiss here, but the episode’s mouthwatering climax and resolution will guarantee smiles of contentment all around. (Easy reader. 6-7)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2007

ISBN: 978-0-06-053561-2

Page Count: 48

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2007

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BEST SEAT IN KINDERGARTEN
by Katharine Kenah ; illustrated by Abby Carter

- BOOK REVIEW
THE VERY STUFFED TURKEY
by Katharine Kenah ; illustrated by Binny Talib

- BOOK REVIEW
FERRY TAIL
by Katharine Kenah ; illustrated by Nicole Wong

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SEE PIP POINT

From the Adventures of Otto series

by David Milgrim & illustrated by David Milgrim ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2003

Emergent readers will like the humor in little Pip’s pointed requests, and more engaging adventures for Otto and Pip will be...

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In his third beginning reader about Otto the robot, Milgrim (See Otto, 2002, etc.) introduces another new friend for Otto, a little mouse named Pip.

The simple plot involves a large balloon that Otto kindly shares with Pip after the mouse has a rather funny pointing attack. (Pip seems to be in that I-point-and-I-want-it phase common with one-year-olds.) The big purple balloon is large enough to carry Pip up and away over the clouds, until Pip runs into Zee the bee. (“Oops, there goes Pip.”) Otto flies a plane up to rescue Pip (“Hurry, Otto, Hurry”), but they crash (and splash) in front of some hippos with another big balloon, and the story ends as it begins, with a droll “See Pip point.” Milgrim again succeeds in the difficult challenge of creating a real, funny story with just a few simple words. His illustrations utilize lots of motion and basic geometric shapes with heavy black outlines, all against pastel backgrounds with text set in an extra-large typeface.

Emergent readers will like the humor in little Pip’s pointed requests, and more engaging adventures for Otto and Pip will be welcome additions to the limited selection of funny stories for children just beginning to read. (Easy reader. 5-7)