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TRAVELING BY AIRPLANE

Name: TRAVELING BY AIRPLANE
Author: Pierre Winters
ISBN: 978-1-60537-137-5

From the Want to Know series

by Pierre Winters & illustrated by Tineke Meirinck ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2012

An impressive amount of useful information in an inviting format, studded with humor.

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Everything a youngster might want to know about air travel.

Henry and Kate are going on vacation with their parents. Packed bags close by, they stare excitedly out the window at the airport, waiting for the call to board. A series of two-page spreads charts the history of flight, from Icarus through biplanes to the modern jet, then Winters takes readers onto the plane to check out every part from nose to tail. Another spread depicts one boy's (puzzlingly, not Henry) fascination; he makes a paper airplane and flies a remote-control helicopter before building his own toy plane out of wood and finally piloting a small plane himself. A double-gatefold provides a panoramic view of the airport, illustrating aspects of airport security. Then readers meet the various airport personnel, pictured and described. Henry and Kate hold their boarding passes as they wait in line to get on the plane. All along the way are additional tidbits or reader challenges in little bubbles. Winters closes with a pair of poems about flight and a handful of quizzes (matching pictured baggage to owners, for example) and craft projects, like making a travel notebook. The illustrations look a bit too old-fashioned for the hipness of the text, but it’s still a solid, if busy introduction for new fliers.

An impressive amount of useful information in an inviting format, studded with humor. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-60537-137-5

Page Count: 30

Publisher: Clavis

Review Posted Online: Oct. 23, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2012

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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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)