by Reese Eschmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 19, 2022
Litter-ally not worth a look.
Will Kira’s next great idea be a purr or a hiss?
Elementary schooler Kira and her little brother, Ryan, live with their parents above the family’s cat cafe, The Purrfect Cup. The cats therein are from a local shelter and can be adopted (except Pepper, Kira’s best feline friend). Kira likes to help out in the cafe and with the cat adoptions and often has really good ideas (though not all pan out). When she hears that the King County Dog Show will be held in Bloomington, Kira gets the idea to enter the cafe cats in the show in hopes the increased visibility will get more of them adopted. She enlists her best human friend Alex Patel, her family, and Mr. Anderson, the owner of the art shop, in her plan. The trial run is a trial ruckus. But with Ryan’s help, Kira comes up with a new idea that is fashionably feline and fills the cafe with customers (and new cat adopters). Eschmann’s series opener features an improbable plot and an unrelentingly and unrealistically upbeat tone, not to mention a cockeyed conception of cat care. There are no real laughs, and the life lessons verge on didactic. Kira and Ryan appear to be Black; theirs is a diverse community.
Litter-ally not worth a look. (Fiction. 5-7)Pub Date: July 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-78398-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
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by Reese Eschmann ; illustrated by Gretel Lusky
by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010
Hee haw.
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The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley
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by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2024
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.
The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.
Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780063329560
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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