Alas, not the stuff of dreams for balletomane readers.
Toe shoes and tutus are the stuff of dreams for a rabbit.
Parisian Désirée Rabbit tells her story in the first person. She has been dancing from childhood and knows that she is destined to be a ballerina. Unfortunately, the receptionist at the ballet school is adamant in her opposition. Madame Molotov (more correctly “Madame Molotova,” and even then, what an odd choice of names) states that “there are NO BUNNIES in the ballet.” Not one to give up, Désirée shows off her many moves, and the ballet master sees talent and drive. She practices, she rehearses, and she gets a role as a pet rabbit in The Nutcracker, dropping all her carrots with excitement at the honor. In an all-too-familiar moment, a featured dancer is injured, and Désirée hops in to applause and acclaim. Beck, a former dancer, borrows from such classics as 42nd Street for his oft-told tale of the chorine/corps member achieving stardom. His ink-and-watercolor artwork depicts dancers and Parisian scenes with swift, loose strokes against a white background. These lines look more preliminary than finished, and they suggest rather than demonstrate ballet steps. Though they evoke movement, such a treatment is not acceptable for a dance form that is so precise with its arm and leg placements. And the bunny in her tutu has lost all her plump appeal.
Alas, not the stuff of dreams for balletomane readers. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-42930-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2013
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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