Here’s hoping Van Slyke and Hartland will round up some more nifty yarns, as this is clever wordplay to share with kids.
Everyone knows Lexie is the best wrangler west of the Mississippi—best word wrangler, that is.
Outfitted in a tall hat and fancy boots, the freckle-faced white girl can ride, twirl a lariat, and herd cantankerous cattle. Besides that, she can tie words together, like “corn” and “bread” to make “cornbread.” In the spring she watches the baby letters grow into words that she can herd into sentences and then make into messages. Everyone agrees that Lexie is a champion word wrangler, except for one rascal who starts messing with her words. “Dogies” become “doggies,” a “bandana” becomes a “banana,” and a twinkling “star” is turned into several “rats.” “Ain’t no fun sleeping out under the rats,” says Lexie in a colossal understatement. Yep, it’s a word rustler at work. Lexie sets off to find the culprit and bring him to justice. In a sundown ambush, she lassoes the scoundrel: it’s a black kid named Russell. All he wants is to work with words like Lexie. So Russell the word rustler—make that wrestler—joins Lexie the word wrangler, and a rootin’ tootin’ team is hitched up. Hartland’s quirky gouache illustrations, reminiscent of Maira Kalman’s work, play up the Western-style humor. The last page has a dictionary of wrangler words.
Here’s hoping Van Slyke and Hartland will round up some more nifty yarns, as this is clever wordplay to share with kids. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-16957-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A celebration of the first 100 days starring a boy brimming with personality.
The first 100 days of school are a really big deal.
Harry Bergen-Murphy, age 5, is starting first grade but doesn’t feel ready. As described in “Day 1” (chapters contain multiple days, each labeled), Mommy and Charlotte, Harry’s older sister, help him face “big-kid school” on his first day. Details of the subsequent 99 days are incorporated, journal-style, into the novel’s 19 chapters and narrated in third person, present tense, providing a nice sense of immediacy. As the days proceed, Harry makes friends (and becomes a great one himself); figures out silent “E” and aces sight words; creates pompom monsters; articulates uncomfortable emotions; overcomes a fear of guinea pigs; devises an ingenious way to bring 100 items to the 100th-day celebration; and much more. Abetted by loving family, kind teachers, and close friends, Harry blossoms into one terrific kid. Readers will love joining him on this realistic, comical, heartwarming journey. Frequent references to puke and boogers enhance the humor in this captivating tale, written with keen awareness for the way kids speak, think, and behave. Oswald’s full-color illustrations depict Harry and family as white; Harry’s best friend has brown skin. Other adults and classmates appear with diverse skin tones, hair styles, and hair colors. A female crossing guard wears a hijab; some characters wear glasses.
A celebration of the first 100 days starring a boy brimming with personality. (author’s note) (Fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: June 29, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-525-64471-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Anne Schwartz/Random
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
A basketful of farm-filled fun and learning. (Informational picture book. 5-8)
The subtitle announces the approach of this clever ABC that will inform and entertain kids, whether they are farm savvy or naive.
Each letter has a title with factual tidbits in reader-friendly layout and text. Kk, “King-sized Kohlrabi,” gives an explanation of the vegetable and lists varieties. “Kohlrabi are sweet-tasting bulbs with thick stems that grow above ground. While they’re usually about the size of a tennis ball, some—like the king-sized Kossak kohlrabi—can grow as a big as a volleyball.” The chatty style and occasional questions will engage kids. Some word choices are a stretch—Ice Cold Ice Cream for I and Oh! Overalls in the Orchard, for example—though they do connect to farm life. S is for Stink, Stank, Stunk (manure); X is for Xtra Large Eggs with Yummy Yellow Yolks; Z is for Zoom Zoom Zucchini (with rules for zucchini races). What makes it all work are the vividly colored collages made with handpainted papers and acrylics. The end pages create a puzzle to find specific words and images, plus there’s a ladybug to find in each scene. For storytimes, pair this with Lois Ehlert’s Eating the Alphabet: Fruits and Vegetables from A to Z (1989).
A basketful of farm-filled fun and learning. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: July 26, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58246-421-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tricycle
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
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