A well-played account of a newcomer learning to roll with the punches.
Sometimes a gambit is all it takes.
When 7-year-old Auggie moves from the seaside to the country with his father, he feels like he’s in an entirely new world. There are no beaches here—just (very smelly) cows and corn as far as the eye can see. As Auggie explores his new home, he stumbles across his father’s chess set, a treasured heirloom. Enchanted by the wooden pieces and their elegant designs, Auggie asks if he can learn to play. It’s something pleasant to look forward to as he endures a rough first day at school. As the father and son play, Auggie begins to see his classmates as chess pieces running through the halls. A lesson on taking risks, known in chess terms as a “gambit,” helps Auggie break the ice with fellow student Luke. Costanza’s digital illustrations enhance Rusu’s narrative, and the subtle shading around Auggie’s eyes underscores the frustrations he feels while finding his way at school and learning to play chess. Costanza concisely captures the moves of the game, so readers intrigued by the story can learn the basics of the game. Auggie and his father are of Romanian descent; a pronunciation guide for “Tatâ” (Daddy) and “Bunicu” (Grandpa) would have helped readers unfamiliar with the terms. This quibble aside, Rusu offers youngsters a solid road map for navigating new places and new games. Auggie’s classmates are diverse.
A well-played account of a newcomer learning to roll with the punches. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780593710814
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Random
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.
The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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