Not as natural as Frog and Toad's clever repartee but a good purchase for children not quite ready for books without...
Five busy chapters introduce a reticent snail to the glories of a garden.
Peterson is no stranger to illustrating books about gardens and nature (Dig In!, 2016, etc.). Her first outing as both author and illustrator relies on cute critters rather than natural science. Snail, with bug eyes and an expressive, mostly smiling face, is encouraged to explore by his best friend, adventurous Ladybug. Gopher and Rabbit have speaking parts, while Squirrel and Bluebird play supporting roles. Although no specific reading level is identified, the new Aladdin PIX imprint targets reluctant readers ages 6 through 9 with sophisticated vocabulary. Snail is shown “ruminating” and “pondering.” Short sentences, clear clues in the pictures, and varied typefaces keep the story accessible. The narrative is set in Archer, a friendly-looking serif type. Dialogue appears in squared-off speech bubbles. An all-uppercase blue display type is used for informational and descriptive words that are not part of the basic plotline. The center spread is a garden map. The story is slight; information embedded in the story is even slighter. The plot premise—that a snail would hesitate to venture out of a bucket—is just silly fun, but kids will relate to his hesitation to try new foods.
Not as natural as Frog and Toad's clever repartee but a good purchase for children not quite ready for books without pictures but ready for chapters. (Early reader. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5302-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Aladdin PIX
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
A new series starring a whimsical protagonist certain to endear herself to readers.
Voluble third grader Millicent Magnus Miller makes her series debut.
Dubbed “quirky” by her mother (an assessment readers will likely agree with), Millie narrates her own well-paced story in a flow of verbiage she often has trouble stemming. She is “the boss” but defers to her mom, who happens to be the mayor of Washington, D.C. Mayor Maude’s a single parent (Millie’s father is dead), but her assistant, Josephine Draper, adds more rules, like insisting that Millie’s pet chick, Extra Spicy, live in the coop outside. Millie and her “bestest friends,” Lunchbox, Poppy Anne, and Atticus, also face a sneaky, name-calling bully, Buckley. (Mazique drops an early clue: Only recently has Buckley “become so mean.”) Other conflicts involve Millie learning she can’t take Extra Spicy to the school’s Family Field Day and competing against Buckley in the three-legged race. It strains credulity somewhat that both teacher and principal fail to get Millie’s side of the bullying story, but Mazique gives Millie a relatable awareness of her struggles with impulse control, like “not being quiet and not sitting in my seat.” Eventually things improve in a teachable turnaround that’s a bit abrupt but still moving. Glenn’s realistic cartoon-style drawings portray Mille, her family, the principal, and Atticus as Black; the teacher, Poppy Anne, and Buckley as white; and Lunchbox as East Asian.
A new series starring a whimsical protagonist certain to endear herself to readers. (Chapter book. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9780593618776
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
No red—but lots of tooth and claw on display.
Face-to-face introductions to over two dozen creatures it would be better to avoid.
Labeling each predator as either extinct or modern-day, Jenkins arranges his paper-collage portraits—most of them rendered, as usual, with seemingly miraculous realism—in no readily obvious order. Starting off with the cruel-beaked “terror bird” (extinct) of South America and toothy views of a gaping Siberian tiger and T. Rex, he proceeds past African wild dogs (“some of the most successful predators on earth, with nine out of ten hunts ending in a kill”), the electric eel, killer pig Daedon, 48-foot-long (14.5 m) Titanoboa, and like threats to the spiderlike Trigonotarbid, just an inch long (2.5 cm) but 400 million years ago one of the largest predators on land. Then, in true browser-rousing fashion, he proposes several matchups, like the Siberian tiger vs. Utahraptor. Place your bets! Each creature comes with descriptive notes and a small silhouette posed next to a human (“The deadliest predator”) for scale. Measurements for each creature are provided in first English and then metric units. The bibliography includes an unremarkable assortment of reference works and websites.
No red—but lots of tooth and claw on display. (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: June 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-67160-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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