Not quite as simple as ABC, but great fun nonetheless.
Numbers and letters vie for supremacy in this amusing picture book.
“I’m the one and only one,” announces Number 1, brandishing his number 1 cup. Neither Number 2, with two shoes, nor Number 3 (with three cows) nor any of the other numbers—not even 5 with five elephants—is able to compete with Number 1. Chaos threatens to erupt when a lowercase letter a appears in the mix, humbly asking if this is the alphabet book? By the time the pages have filled with planes, cups of coffee and dancing frogs, Number 1 is feeling claustrophobic. He runs to an empty page with his precious cup. For a few minutes he is alone, “Just me. The one and only one!” His hard-won solitude is short-lived, however. The errant letter a appears again, along with a handful of letters, all searching for the alphabet book. This is, of course, the numbers book! Renowned cartoonist Blechman manages to put an original spin on a well-worn theme. His whimsical and wiggly numbers are brimming with character and help to transform the frequently tedious ordeal of learning to count into a lightly humorous explication with which kids, parents, librarians and teachers can have fun. The hand-lettered speech balloons might occasionally be hard for beginning readers, but the sense is usually obvious from the context.
Not quite as simple as ABC, but great fun nonetheless. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-56846-245-5
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Creative Editions/Creative Company
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
Say yes to each reread of this one.
Oliver McSnow says, “No!” to everything until his cousin Jess teaches him the power of “Yes!”
A word all too familiar to caregivers of little ones, no echoes around Oliver’s house. He turns down food, a request to clean up a mess, and even the chance to use the swings. When Jess comes to play, he says, “Yes!” before Oliver can say “No!” and off they go, swinging, scootering, and even enjoying ice cream. As it turns out, Jess just might change Oliver’s mind forever, showing him the joyful wonder of saying yes. Grabenstein’s naysayer is wholeheartedly believable, as is the exuberant, gleeful Jess. Espinosa’s illustrations perfectly capture Oliver’s exasperated parents, who are exhausted by the boy’s rejection of everything except for macaroni and cheese. The story will have readers realizing right alongside Oliver just how much fun there is in trying and doing new things. Text and illustrations are well balanced, never belaboring the message and letting Oliver’s experiences speak for themselves. Espinosa’s black-outlined illustrations capture the characters midmovement: Oliver biking through the house with one socked foot or sprinting naked through the front door. The story strikes just the right note of on-the-nose kid behavior and parent feelings with a hint of silly and a satisfying resolution. Oliver is tan-skinned, his parents are lighter-skinned, and Jess is brown-skinned. There are background characters of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Say yes to each reread of this one. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 16, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-30204-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A welcome addition to autumnal storytelling—and to tales of traditional enemies overcoming their history.
Ferry and the Fans portray a popular seasonal character’s unlikely friendship.
Initially, the protagonist is shown in his solitary world: “Scarecrow stands alone and scares / the fox and deer, / the mice and crows. / It’s all he does. It’s all he knows.” His presence is effective; the animals stay outside the fenced-in fields, but the omniscient narrator laments the character’s lack of friends or places to go. Everything changes when a baby crow falls nearby. Breaking his pole so he can bend, the scarecrow picks it up, placing the creature in the bib of his overalls while singing a lullaby. Both abandon natural tendencies until the crow learns to fly—and thus departs. The aabb rhyme scheme flows reasonably well, propelling the narrative through fall, winter, and spring, when the mature crow returns with a mate to build a nest in the overalls bib that once was his home. The Fan brothers capture the emotional tenor of the seasons and the main character in their panoramic pencil, ballpoint, and digital compositions. Particularly poignant is the close-up of the scarecrow’s burlap face, his stitched mouth and leaf-rimmed head conveying such sadness after his companion goes. Some adults may wonder why the scarecrow seems to have only partial agency, but children will be tuned into the problem, gratified by the resolution.
A welcome addition to autumnal storytelling—and to tales of traditional enemies overcoming their history. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-247576-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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