A somewhat wordy but helpful manual for children in similar situations.
A child gets his tonsils removed in Olorunfemi’s picture book.
Sam, a dark-haired, dark-skinned child, visits an Ears Nose and Throat specialist and learns that his oversized adenoids and tonsils must be removed via surgery. He is also diagnosed with sleep apnea. The book chronicles Sam’s experience leading up to his surgery including details like how he can’t eat or drink the night before. At the hospital, Sam gets hooked up to machines and receives “sleepy medicine” [8] called anesthesia. The nurses and surgeon are kind so Sam “wasn’t afraid…and was so happy he would be able to sleep better afterward.”[6] After surgery "Sam was fully awake with no... complications…and…discharged…the same day.”[8] Sam is thrilled that he no longer snores. Although his throat hurts and he can’t eat certain foods, Sam is happy to get home to his siblings and awakens feeling energized. The book functions well as a child-friendly clinical manual as opposed to a story with a plot. The author, an RN, displays clear knowledge of ENT procedures. The medical jargon and details are child-appropriate. Occasionally the text lags and includes unnecessary details like the ages of Sam’s siblings[2]. Still, this is an approachable tool for children requiring ENT procedures. The illustrations mirror the text. Some offer subtext like a scene showing masked surgeons performing Sam’s surgery. Others emphasize medical elements like a closeup of Sam’s throat and tonsils. A somewhat wordy but helpful manual for children in similar situations.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 17
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: April 2, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Most children will agree the book is “smafunderful (smart + fun + wonderful).” (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-10)
In this entertaining chapter book, the first in a series, readers meet kind Sir Sidney and the gentle performers and hands in his circus. But Sir Sidney is tired and leaves the circus under the management of new-hire Barnabas Brambles for a week.
That Sir Sidney is beloved by all is quickly established, presenting a sharp contrast to the bully Brambles. The scoundrel immediately comes up with a “to do” list that includes selling the animals and eliminating the mice Bert and Gert. (Gert is almost more distressed by Brambles’ ill-fitting suit and vows to tailor it.) Revealed almost entirely through dialogue, the put-upon animals’ solidarity is endearing. The story, like the circus train now driven by the Famous Flying Banana Brothers, takes absurd loops and turns. The art is fully integrated, illustrating the action and supplementing the text with speech bubbles, facsimile letters and posters, Brambles’ profit-and-loss notes, examples of Gert’s invented vocabulary and more. Brambles’ plans go awry, of course, and he gets his comeuppance. With Bert and Gert acting as his conscience, along with a suit from Gert that finally fits and a dose of forgiveness, Brambles makes a turnaround. Sensitive children may doubt Sir Sidney’s wisdom in leaving his animals with an unscrupulous man, and the closing message is a tad didactic, but that doesn’t blunt the fun too much.
Most children will agree the book is “smafunderful (smart + fun + wonderful).” (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-61620-244-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Cute and brave—gee, Rot’s spud-tacular!
A “scaredy-spud” puts on his brave face.
All “mutant potatoes” love mud. Mud is good for playing games, eating, and even sleeping. But few taters have more tender feelings toward muck than Rot. À la Pete the Cat, Rot celebrates mud in song: “Mud between my toes! / Mud in my nose! / Mud is GREAT / wherever it GOES!” When Rot’s big brother, Snot, tells Rot about the Squirm that lives “deep down in the mushy muck,” his love quickly turns to fear. But he doesn’t give up! Instead, Rot imagines himself in various disguises to work up courage. There’s “Super Spud” (a superhero), “Sir Super Rot, the Brave and Bold” (a superhero-knight), and even “Sir Super Rot the Pigtato” (a, um, superhero-knight-pig-potato). The disguises are one thing, but, deep down, is Rot really brave enough to face the Squirm? Readers wooed by Rot’s charm in Rot: The Cutest in the World (2017) will laugh out loud at this well-paced encore—and it’s not just because of the butt cracks. Clanton creates a winning dynamic, balancing Rot’s earnestness, witty dialogue, and an omniscient, slightly melodramatic narrator. The cartoon illustrations were created using watercolors, colored pencils, digital collage, and—brilliantly—potato stamps. Clanton’s reliance on earth tones makes for some clever, surprising page turns when the palette is broken.
Cute and brave—gee, Rot’s spud-tacular! (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: June 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6764-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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