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THANK YOU, NEIGHBOR!

This sweet book will encourage storytelling about readers’ own local neighborhoods.

Walking through the streets of a low-rise urban community, an Asian kid with a friendly dog greets neighbors and community workers, thanking them for their contributions.

The detailed line-and-color illustrations beg for close inspection and practically tell the simple story by themselves, although there is also a limited amount of text and some dialogue in cartoon bubbles. The kid and the dog, who performs his normal bodily functions along the way, talk to lots of people, both adults and children. As they go through the streets and the library (the dog stuffed into the kid’s backpack) and peek in on the crowded grocery store, the protagonist talks to the sanitation workers, the letter carrier, people cleaning in front of their shops, some firefighters rescuing a cat, and others opening the hydrant for children to cool off in its water. The child hails neighbors and friends, all enjoying an ideal city day. At the end, kid and dog return home to their apartment, proudly showing the library book (appropriately, Last Stop on Market Street, a book about a grandchild and grandmother) they checked out to a smiling older woman, waiting for the child with what appear to be Chinese dumplings. The community’s inhabitants are robustly diverse, including different ages, racial presentations, and abilities. In a note, the author/illustrator writes fondly about her Brooklyn neighborhood. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

This sweet book will encourage storytelling about readers’ own local neighborhoods. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-06-290953-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021

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CHICK-O-SAURUS REX

Hot as the “bully” topic may be, this has nothing to offer on it aside from facile wish fulfillment.

Inspired by his dinosaur ancestry, a small chick drives off a wolf and so turns bullies into friends in this bland episode.

Bullies Little Pig, Little Sheep and Little Donkey refuse him entry to the treehouse unless he can prove that he’s “brave and mighty.” A nascent rooster’s crow doesn’t persuade them that he or his family meet their qualifications, and they post a “No Chickens Allowed” sign on their tree. Little Chick pesters his dad into helping him dig up an “ancient ancestor” who turns out to be T. Rex. Proclaiming “I AM CHICK-O-SAURUS REX!” in a full-spread bellow, Little Chick races back to the tree with a giant bone, arriving just in time to send a startled wolf scooting off. Huzzah. After a general chorus of “For He’s a Mighty Brave Chicken,” the erstwhile bullies throw the treehouse open to all the farm animals. The thick-lined, very simple cartoon illustrations have just about as much nuance as the plotline.

Hot as the “bully” topic may be, this has nothing to offer on it aside from facile wish fulfillment. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: July 23, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-4424-5186-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: April 9, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013

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PUNK SKUNKS

Not a stinker, but no hit record either.

BSFs, best skunks forever! Maybe….

Kit, a pink-and-white–haired girl skunk, and Buzz, a boy skunk with green, spiky hair, spend every day together. Kit on her skateboard and Buzz on his bike, they zoom through urban streets and play in the park. “And best of all…they rocked out. / Kit drummed. / CRASH! / BAM! / BOOM! / BOOM! /Buzz strummed. / WAHH! / WAHH! / REN! / REN!” One day they disagree on what to write a song about. The next day they don’t get together. Both become so sad they decide to sell their instruments. When they meet outside Mole’s new and used music store, they find BSFs can rock on even through disagreements. This debut by a husband and wife team is a passable tale of music and friendship full of onomatopoeic phrases. The bright, digital cartoon illustrations are exuberant and inviting and help to (but don’t quite) lift this above the pack of similar fare. Some visual jokes (Kit’s “ABCD” T-shirt and band posters for “Shrewsie Shrew” and the likes) may make parents giggle, but the target audience probably won’t notice. Strangely, Buzz sprays paint out his backside rather than stench, which may raise a few eyebrows, and although Kit’s pretty fierce, does she really need to be color-coded pink?

Not a stinker, but no hit record either. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-236396-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2015

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