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MARGARET WISE BROWN'S MANNERS

Name: MARGARET WISE BROWN'S MANNERS
Author: Margaret Wise Brown
ISBN: 978-1-101-93973-4

by Margaret Wise Brown ; illustrated by Nicola Slater ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 9, 2017

Enigmatic, if not outright disjointed, and not well-served by these visuals.

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Previously unpublished reflections on behavior, amplified and exemplified in new illustrations featuring a cast of cute, small characters.

Slater’s recurrent cast of diversely colored figures with human bodies and outsized animal heads reduces Brown’s terse but nuanced text to superficial contrasts between polite and rude acts. The confusion begins with the opening “There is a way to say hello / and a way not to say hello”—which, like most of the similarly patterned following lines, could be interpreted several ways. Here the meaning is supposedly demonstrated by a wolf who is studiously reading and a bird looking at its wristwatch; both are made to seem rude by not acknowledging a rabbit’s greeting. Why should the rabbit, who is interrupting, be the one in the right? Later contrasts prescribe, for instance, ways to hold and not hold tableware, to “go up to a dog,” and “to make people like you” or “not to make people like you” (this last involving a group of rowdy campers on the ostensibly positive side and someone trying to sleep calling for “Quiet!” on the negative). Finally, whether the title is Brown’s or not, her final line (assuming it wasn’t just a place holder in the manuscript) suggests that she originally had more than rules of etiquette in mind: “There is a way to be yourself.”

Enigmatic, if not outright disjointed, and not well-served by these visuals. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: May 9, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-101-93973-4

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Golden Books/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
TWO LITTLE TRAINS
by Margaret Wise Brown ; illustrated by Greg Pizzoli

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A HOME IN THE BARN
by Margaret Wise Brown ; illustrated by Jerry Pinkney

- BOOK REVIEW
GOOD DAY, GOOD NIGHT
by Margaret Wise Brown ; illustrated by Loren Long

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CLAYMATES

by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Lauren Eldridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2017

The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...

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Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.

A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.

The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: June 20, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ELMORE AND THE BIG CHRISTMAS RESCUE
by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Mike Boldt

- BOOK REVIEW
DON'T LOSE MR. CUDDLES
by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Mike Boldt

- BOOK REVIEW
MONTY AND THE MUSHROOMS
by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Jared Chapman

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HELLO, SUN!

by Lala Watkins ; illustrated by Lala Watkins ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2025

Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!

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Fun with friends makes for a great day.

Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”

Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)