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THE ROADMAN BOOGIE

Name: THE ROADMAN BOOGIE
Author: Nikki Slade Robinson
ISBN: 978-1-76036-012-2

by Nikki Slade Robinson ; illustrated by Nikki Slade Robinson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2016

Unsatisfying.

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He’s got the music in him, and he can’t stop dancing.

While the big diggers move the earth and fill up the trucks at the side of the highway, a hard rain falls. The Roadman has a bit of trouble holding up his big stop sign. He’s chilly, bored, soggy, and fighting a cold. When a car pulls up, blaring out a rockabilly tune, Roadman’s toes begin to twitch, and he can’t help but dance along with the music. The same thing happens when a decorated station wagon drives by with a doo-wop song emanating from it. A truck blaring a country-music ballad gets his knees rocking back and forth. He also moves to a boogie-woogie beat, a rhumba, a saucy salsa, a bit of jazz, a brassy bugle band, and a dazzling disco track. He’s so busy dancing he doesn’t notice the rising water. “The river’s overflowed!” Quickly, he puts out his cones and closes the road. Traffic is likely to be stalled for hours. There’s only one sensible thing to do: invite everyone to “my Roadman’s Boogie Ball!” Robinson’s rhyming text gives the story a bit of a lift, but her illustrations don’t fulfill the promise of so many different styles of dance, and the idea of matching the music to the vehicles is only half realized, so spread after spread features nothing but the pale-skinned Roadman dancing against a gray, textured backdrop meant to evoke rain.

Unsatisfying. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-76036-012-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Starfish Bay

Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LITTLE KIWI'S NEW YEAR
by Nikki Slade Robinson ; illustrated by Nikki Slade Robinson

- BOOK REVIEW
ANYWHERE ARTIST
by Nikki Slade Robinson ; illustrated by Nikki Slade Robinson

- BOOK REVIEW
MUDDLE & MO'S WORM SURPRISE
by Nikki Slade Robinson ; illustrated by Nikki Slade Robinson

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THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING

by Pia Shlomo & illustrated by Patti Argoff ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 12, 2011

A family book to learn with and share for those inclined to this religious lifestyle.

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“Hakaras Hatov,” the Jewish daily ritual of thanking God for everyday life, is explicated in simplistic verse in this personalized drawing workbook.

Beginning with the Modeh Ani, or morning prayer, a little girl, upon awakening in her bed, thanks Hashem (God) for ”making me, me!” As her day continues, she is grateful for her family, the mitzvos (good deeds) she is able to do, food she eats, her home and possessions, the natural world surrounding her, her health and, at night, once again for her warm bed. Each thank you is accompanied by a brightly hued watercolor illustration on the left side featuring an observant Jewish family in proper attire, complete with long skirts for girls and yarmulkes for boys. The right side provides a bordered blank page for children to draw their own corresponding thank-you picture as suggested—“Where do you live? Draw a picture of your house on this page.” Created for an Orthodox audience, this preschool-oriented introduction to daily prayer and gratitude is carefully designed and stands out by presenting a girl for its protagonist. Yet it pales compared to the award-winning, artfully rendered duo by Sarah Gershman, The Bedtime Sh’ma (2007) and Modeh Ani (2010).

A family book to learn with and share for those inclined to this religious lifestyle. (Picture books/religion. 4-6)

Pub Date: Dec. 12, 2011

ISBN: 978-1-929628-63-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Hachai

Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2012

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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I WANT TO HELP!

by Diane Adams & illustrated by Nancy Hayashi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2012

This misses the riotous humor and innocent naughtiness that make Olivia and Eloise such delicious fun.

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Emily Pearl, that not-so-helpful but very independent girl, is back in her second outing, this time “helping” at school.

Emily Pearl goes to school and can do lots of things—count to 14, write her name and hit a home run. But as in I Can Do It Myself! (2009), while the gentle rhyming verse brags about all of her accomplishments, Hayashi’s watercolor, pen and colored-pencil illustrations reveal that her efforts are not always successful or welcome. Yes, she can do the monkey bars two at a time, but it involves pushing other kids off. Yes, she can neatly stack the blocks…after she causes her classmates’ creation to tumble. Indeed, she is often the cause of the mishaps and chaos that she is so anxious to help with. While Emily Pearl’s previous outing was charming in its simplicity and its snapshot of a too-true phase in every child’s life, this one is not as successful. Emily Pearl is obviously older and so should be a little more clued-in about the effect her actions have on other people; readers scanning her classmates’ faces will know immediately that Emily is not always appreciated by kids or adults, but those who don’t pay attention to facial expressions and the small details may not get the point of the book at all.

This misses the riotous humor and innocent naughtiness that make Olivia and Eloise such delicious fun. (Picture book. 4-6)