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 lovingly authentic debut that shines.
Young Mindy takes an entrepreneurial approach to a new school and a new life.
Moving from California to Florida is tough. On top of that, Korean American Mindy and her father are still grieving the recent loss of her mom from a long illness. The first day at her new school is discouraging, as she is teased for her lunch of kimchi, seaweed, eggs, and rice. The next day a White classmate named Sally tries the seaweed and effectively flips public opinion, making Mindy’s lunch very popular. Encouraged by Sally’s enthusiasm, Mindy starts trading her seaweed, then opts to sell it to raise money for a puppy (a long-held dream of hers) that she hopes will alleviate her father’s sadness. The evenly paced plot thickens when a disgruntled classmate, a White boy named Brandon, reports Mindy’s forbidden business to a teacher, causing Sally, Mindy, and Brandon to go to the principal’s office. Just on the verge of settling in, Mindy now must untangle this mess. Lee ambitiously takes on a number of issues with a new school, microaggressions, friendships, and grief, and she artfully manages to balance it all. Mindy’s accessible, genuine-sounding voice is sincere without diminishing the gravity of heavy issues. Lee also knows when to insert scenes of family love that prevent Mindy’s dad from being defined solely by his grief. Ho contributes friendly-looking black-and-white illustrations every few pages.
A lovingly authentic debut that shines. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4009-8
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
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Plenty of baseball action, but the paint-by-numbers plot is just a vehicle for equally standard-issue advice. .
For his eponymous imprint, the New York Yankees star leads off with a self-referential tale of Little League triumphs.
In the first of a projected 10 episodes based on the same number of “Life Lessons” espoused by the lead author’s Turn 2 Foundation, third-grader Derek turns in an essay announcing that his dream is to play shortstop for the New York Yankees (No. 1 on the Turn 2 list: “Set your goals high”). His parents take him seriously enough not only to present him with a “contract” that promises rewards for behaviors like working hard and avoiding alcohol and drugs, but also to put a flea in the ear of his teacher after she gives him a B-minus on the essay for being unrealistic. Derek then goes on to pull up his math grade. He also proceeds to pull off brilliant plays for his new Little League team despite finding himself stuck at second base while the coach’s son makes multiple bad decisions at shortstop and, worse, publicly puts down other team members. Jeter serves as his own best example of the chosen theme’s theoretical validity, but as he never acknowledges that making the majors (in any sport) requires uncommon physical talent as well as ambition and determination, this values-driven pitch is well out of the strike zone.
Plenty of baseball action, but the paint-by-numbers plot is just a vehicle for equally standard-issue advice. . (foundation ad and curriculum guide, not seen) (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2312-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Jeter/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
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