A fun main character, important lessons and an emphasis on French culture will make this a memorable experience for early...
After puppy leaves the farm to live in the city, she must adjust to life with her spoiled poodle sisters, obedience school and her first crush.
In the first book of a promising series, Kaupp introduces sweet, friendly Amberella Corgi Stafford, the young offspring of a Welsh corgi and Staffordshire bull terrier. Always up for new adventures, Amberella leaves her home on the farm to go live with a sophisticated family in the city. The family includes two prissy poodle sisters, Zozue and Tutsu, and Grand-mére, a human who can hear dogs talk. Shallow Zozue and Tutsu immediately dismiss their new sister, shocked to discover that they’re supposed to accept the country-bred puppy as one of their own. But after a few incidences of inhospitable behavior, the sisters realize that Amberella isn’t going anywhere; they grow to like her. Grand-mére sends Amberella to obedience school, where, after she develops a crush on a black Labrador named Prince, she must navigate new, unexpected feelings. While the “city mouse, country mouse” plot is one that’s been covered many times before, this book offers useful lessons for elementary-grade readers, such as how to handle bullying, make friends and understand a crush. But what sets Kaupp’s debut apart is that Grand-mére takes the puppies to Paris to reunite with Tutsu and Zozue’s old governess and take in the sights. Not only are French words sprinkled throughout—a handy word list at the front of the book provides translations and pronunciation help—but the dogs also visit major French sites like Versailles. Kaupp’s writing is also engaging, and short chapters and illustrations sprinkled throughout make this a manageable text for young readers.
A fun main character, important lessons and an emphasis on French culture will make this a memorable experience for early readers.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-1466905948
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Trafford
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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