While the often harsh realities of animal shelters and rescue animals are glossed over in this introduction to the subject,...
A little girl adopts a puppy and starts a program at an animal shelter in which children read to dogs and cats waiting for adoption.
The resourceful little girl gained confidence in her own reading abilities by reading out loud to a huge, white dog in the initial story, Madeline Finn and the Library Dog (2016). Now Madeline is adopting a puppy from a litter born to the dog who helped her in the library reading program. Madeline names her puppy Star and learns all about taking care of a new pet. When Madeline visits an animal shelter, she wants to help the dogs and cats feel loved. She designs her own volunteer program, enlisting other children to read to the animals at the shelter as well as donating towels and blankets. The cheerful story, narrated in first-person present-tense by Madeline, concludes with a lonely dog being adopted by a boy who is one of the volunteer readers. Charming, soft-focus illustrations in pencil and watercolor have an old-fashioned flavor, with appealing dogs and a quiet, pastel palette. Madeline and her mother present white, the shelter supervisor is a woman with brown skin and dark, curly hair, and the kids in the reading program include several children of color.
While the often harsh realities of animal shelters and rescue animals are glossed over in this introduction to the subject, the story provides a positive look at two ways of acquiring a new pet. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68263-075-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Totes adorbs.
A cuddly, squishy pug’s puggy-wuggy diary.
Equipped with both #pugunicorn and #pughotdog outfits, pug Baron von Bubbles (aka Bub) is the kind of dog that always dresses to impress. Bub also makes lots of memorable faces, such as the “Hey, you’re not the boss of me!” expression aimed at Duchess, the snooty pink house cat. Some of Bub’s favorite things include skateboarding, a favorite teddy, and eating peanut butter. Bub also loves Bella, who adopted Bub from a fair—it was “love at first sniff.” Together, Bub and Bella do a lot of arts and crafts. Their latest project: entering Bella’s school’s inventor challenge by making a super-duper awesome rocket. But, when the pesky neighborhood squirrel, Nutz, makes off with Bub’s bear, Bub accidentally ruins their project. How will they win the contest? More importantly, how will Bella ever forgive him? May’s cutesy, full-color cartoon art sets the tone for this pug-tastic romp for the new-to–chapter-books crowd. Emojilike faces accentuate Bub’s already expressive character design. Bub’s infectious first-person narration pushes the silly factor off the charts. In addition to creating the look and feel of a diary, the lined paper helps readers follow the eight-chapter story. Most pages have fewer than five sentences, often broken into smaller sections. Additional text appears in color-coded speech bubbles. Bella presents white.
Totes adorbs. (Fiction. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-53003-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
A poignant story designed to help young readers feel good about themselves and where they come from.
Nigel, a brown-skinned young boy, peers out of his bedroom window and shares his dreams with the moon.
His desire is to become an astronaut, a dancer, and a superhero. With the moon, “his dreams are safe.” During career week at school, his class goes to the library to read about various occupations, but Nigel does not find any books with dancers who look like him. When his classmates share their vocational aspirations, Nigel feels shy to admit that he wants to be a superhero. That night, he confesses his fear to the moon: “What if I wish to be too many things?” When his teacher asks the class to share what their parents do for a living, Nigel is ashamed to speak up since his parents “don’t have fancy jobs.” So, he is stunned when his parents make a surprise visit to his class to speak about their careers and prove to be a big hit with the students. Relieved and proud, Nigel finally gains the courage to share his dreams with his classmates. Zhang’s ink, gouache, and watercolor illustrations are charming and thoughtful, effectively capturing both Nigel’s anxieties and his fanciful inner world. However, readers may notice tokenism at play since Nigel and his parents are the only brown-skinned characters in the book.
A poignant story designed to help young readers feel good about themselves and where they come from. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-305628-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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