Some good verses to read aloud while teaching ABCs and the calendar to kids.
This illustrated book offers 15 rhymed, humorous poems for children in preschool and kindergarten.
In her debut children’s book, Sutherland writes light verse that touches on favorite children’s topics such as animals, nature, and playtime. Subjects include a frog, a spat between animal friends, a fun sailboat, and the zoo. Some verses are abecedarian, such as “Imagination,” which makes some imaginative choices for the letters: “N goes well with Narwhal, / O, my funny friend Otter, and P, my Poison Dart Frog.” Similarly, “A Dreamy Dialogue” describes how a sleepy child’s stuffed animals get together to discuss the alphabet, each with a favorite: “ ‘A,’ advised the Anteater. / One stuffed Bear roared, ‘B!’ / ‘C,’ cawed the courageous Crow / while Don the Dromedary droned, ‘D.’ ” In this example, Sutherland’s meter works well, creating an enjoyably rollicking rhythm. Other verses, though, are less successful. “Twelve Months of Fun,” for example, explains typical pursuits and holidays throughout the calendar year, a useful topic for children, but the poem varies its rhyme scheme from verse to verse (ABAB, ABCB, AABA, etc.). A more regular scheme would have set up the pleasing cycle of expectation and fulfillment that makes rhyming such an effective technique. Sutherland’s scansion is off in this verse, too: “Now colts, now lambs cavorting at play. / Now ducklings, now a day devoted to Mom.” The first line is iambic tetrameter, but the second wanders, lessening the appeal. When everything’s working, though, the verses can be wonderfully silly, as in “An Awesome Fall”: “Do you know / Who is Witch Who Who? / A friend I knew knew who.” The childlike, color-washed illustrations match well with the content; they mostly depict animals and nature, but the two children shown provide a touch of diversity.
Some good verses to read aloud while teaching ABCs and the calendar to kids.Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5355-4032-2
Page Count: 50
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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