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TIBILI

Name: TIBILI
Author: Marie Leonard
ISBN: 1-929132-20-4

THE LITTLE BOY WHO DIDN’T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL

by Marie Leonard & illustrated by Andree Prigent ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2002

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Set in Africa and originally published in France in 1996, Léonard’s freshman fable about the value of education gets a second run in the US. Newcomer Prigent’s folkloric illustrations, which appear to be rendered in oil pastels, introduce readers to the eponymous hero. “Tibili is a happy little boy who laughs all the time, morning to night,” reads the opening text, organized vertically beside the sideways-standing child. But Tibili stops smiling when his mother says he’ll soon start school. A series of panels conveys the boy’s impending sense of doom. In the first, the rising sun casts a fiery glow on the edge of the golden savannah. The second pictures an ominous blackboard shouting a simple equation in bold white chalk. With the school year fast approaching, Tibili seeks the advice of his animal friends. “What can I do so I don’t have to go to school?” Only Crope the spider has a sensible reply. “Go find the Box of Knowledge,” he says. “Open it, and you will find what you are looking for.” But because Tibili hasn’t learned how to read yet, the directions on the bottom of the box mean nothing. “He can’t read!” taunts an observant guinea hen. “He can’t read!” Which, of course, is all it takes to change Tibili’s opinion on education. A nice addition to multicultural collections. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 1, 2002

ISBN: 1-929132-20-4

Page Count: 36

Publisher: Kane Miller

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2002

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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WHERE ARE YOUR SHOES, MR. BROWN?

by Justin Rhodes ; illustrated by Heather Dickinson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2023

Pedestrian.

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Mr. Brown can’t help with farm chores because his shoes are missing—a common occurrence in his household and likely in many readers’ as well.

Children will be delighted that the titular Mr. Brown is in fact a child. After Mr. Brown looks in his closet and sorts through his other family members’ shoes with no luck, his father and his siblings help him search the farm. Eventually—after colorful pages that enable readers to spot footwear hiding—the family gives up on their hunt, and Mr. Brown asks to be carried around for the chores. He rides on his father’s shoulders as Papa gets his work done, as seen on a double-page spread of vignettes. The resolution is more of a lesson for the adult readers than for children, a saccharine moment where father and son express their joy that the missing shoes gave them the opportunity for togetherness—with advice for other parents to appreciate those fleeting moments themselves. Though the art is bright and cheerful, taking advantage of the setting, it occasionally is misaligned with the text (for example, the text states that Mr. Brown is wearing his favorite green shirt while the illustration is of a shirt with wide stripes of white and teal blue, which could confuse readers at the point where they’re trying to figure out which family member is Mr. Brown). The family is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Pedestrian. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 14, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-5460-0389-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals

Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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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)