by Lisa Pomfrey-Talbot ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 28, 2014
An enjoyable debut book for intermediate readers, but a stronger edit might have maximized its appeal.
A little girl’s friends and siblings scheme to keep her sleepwalking habit under control in this debut children’s chapter book.
Jennie is finally old enough to go to summer camp, but her mom won’t let her go. She’s afraid Jennie will walk in her sleep, get lost in the woods and be eaten by a bear. However, when the little girl’s sleepwalking habit and talent for painting combine, it attracts the notice of the summer camp’s director and drama teacher, who happen to live in the same apartment building. They convince Jennie’s mother that she will be safe. Meanwhile, Jennie’s siblings and friends, led by an enterprising girl named Trinity (who carries her pet fish’s bowl around with her), formulate plans to keep the sleepwalking Jennie in her cabin at night. Using yarn, duct tape, assorted maracas and “a CD with tranquil nature sounds,” they execute their projects, dubbed “Operation Web,” “Operation Honey Bear,” “Operation Blue Fish” and “Operation Maraca,” which have mixed results. Their adventures eventually involve an unexpected outing for Fin the fish, a game of T-ball and an annoying boy nicknamed “Spaghetti Nose.” Young readers will undoubtedly enjoy spending time with Jennie and friends in this first installment in a series. However, there are some errors in the otherwise clean, readable text, including a few glaring slips: “peaked with curiosity” instead of “piqued” and multiple misspellings of “leeches” as “leaches.” Readers may also find Jennie’s very brief encounter with a denizen of the woods to be an anticlimactic finale.
An enjoyable debut book for intermediate readers, but a stronger edit might have maximized its appeal.Pub Date: July 28, 2014
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 34
Publisher: Cathydia Press
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Dan Saks ; illustrated by Brooke Smart ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2020
A joyful celebration.
Families in a variety of configurations play, dance, and celebrate together.
The rhymed verse, based on a song from the Noodle Loaf children’s podcast, declares that “Families belong / Together like a puzzle / Different-sized people / One big snuggle.” The accompanying image shows an interracial couple of caregivers (one with brown skin and one pale) cuddling with a pajama-clad toddler with light brown skin and surrounded by two cats and a dog. Subsequent pages show a wide array of families with members of many different racial presentations engaging in bike and bus rides, indoor dance parties, and more. In some, readers see only one caregiver: a father or a grandparent, perhaps. One same-sex couple with two children in tow are expecting another child. Smart’s illustrations are playful and expressive, curating the most joyful moments of family life. The verse, punctuated by the word together, frequently set in oversized font, is gently inclusive at its best but may trip up readers with its irregular rhythms. The song that inspired the book can be found on the Noodle Loaf website.
A joyful celebration. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22276-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Rise x Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
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by Loren Long & illustrated by Loren Long ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2009
Continuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long (The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-399-25248-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2009
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