A nibble into chapter books for emerging readers.
A snail searches for the perfect home—for both his heart and his stomach.
Snail loves his “old rusty bucket full of sweet red strawberries.” Well, more the strawberries than the bucket—the strawberries are his breakfast, lunch, supper, and dessert. Snail loves strawberries so much he gets buried in them. His best friend, Ladybug, has to call out to him to make sure he’s still there. One day, Ladybug tries to convince Snail to go house hunting. She wants Snail to move closer to her (and away from the strawberries). Snail refuses until he nearly eats himself out of house and home, getting so sick that he throws up (readers will echo Ladybug’s revolted reaction). Together, Snail and Ladybug go on a grand, slightly dangerous adventure to find the house that’s just right. But can they make it past the hungry chicken? Snail’s second outing (Snail Has Lunch, 2016) is five short chapters of pure silliness. Peterson’s full-color cartoon illustrations—rendered without black outlines—adopt a bright, springtime feel. Spreads often combine descriptive text with dialogue in speech bubbles, with at most 12 sentences per page. Sentences vary in length and complexity, but pictorial cues, mostly white backgrounds, and deliberate text placement help keep the story accessible. However, some of the busier pages do look a bit cluttered without panels to guide readers.
A nibble into chapter books for emerging readers. (Early reader. 6-9)Pub Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3185-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Aladdin PIX
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
A funny and timely primer for budding activists.
Problems are afoot at Emily Dickinson Elementary School, and it’s up to Bea Garcia to gather the troops and fight.
Bea Garcia and her best friend, Judith Einstein, sit every day under the 250-year-old oak tree in their schoolyard and imagine a face in its trunk. They name it “Emily” after their favorite American poet. Bea loves to draw both real and imagined pictures of their favorite place—the squirrels in the tree, the branches that reach for the sky, the view from the canopy even though she’s never climbed that high. Until the day a problem boy does climb that high, pelting the kids with acorns and then getting stuck. Bert causes such a scene that the school board declares Emily a nuisance and decides to chop it down. Bea and Einstein rally their friends with environmental facts, poetry, and artwork to try to convince the adults in their lives to change their minds. Bea must enlist Bert if she wants her plan to succeed. Can she use her imagination and Bert’s love of monsters to get him in line? In Bea’s fourth outing, Zemke gently encourages her protagonist to grow from an artist into an activist. Her energy and passion spill from both her narration and her frequent cartoons, which humorously extend the text. Spanish-speaking Bea’s Latinx, Einstein and Bert present white, and their classmates are diverse.
A funny and timely primer for budding activists. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 6-9)Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-7352-2941-9
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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