Brimming with enthusiasm, emphasized words, and silly sounds, these cheery books will have emergent readers clamoring for...
The latest installment in the Billie’s Super-Duper Adventures series explores veterinarian dramatic play.
Billie is normally a preschooler set on high speed. She often bounds into school, ready for adventure. But on this particular day, the little white girl limps in, full of woe. She has a scrape on her knee. Brown-skinned Mr. Simon sympathizes with her pain and shows her that Teddy (a stuffed bear) also has an injury. Quick as a wink, Billie and her sidekick pal, Jack, also white, rush off in the cardboard ambulance. As they speed into a cloud of imagination, the classroom instantly transforms into an animal hospital with Dr. Billie and Nurse Jack treating a wide assortment of critters—even a large hippo that has eaten too much ice cream. True to child-doctor sensibilities, many an ailment can be healed with a superabundance of bandages and a spoonful of medicine. Billie and Jack also award star stickers to very brave patients. In the simultaneously publishing Billie’s Outer Space Adventure, Billie and Jack explore Planet Pom-Pom—of course coming up with a “super-duper idea” to save the day when they come across a stranded space tourist. The addition of a few new characters of various skin tones in both books is welcomed.
Brimming with enthusiasm, emphasized words, and silly sounds, these cheery books will have emergent readers clamoring for more. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61067-607-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pair this with Leo Timmers’ Who Is Driving? (2007) for twice the guessing fun.
Heling and Hembrook’s clever conceit challenges children to analyze a small town’s clotheslines to guess the job each of their owners does.
Close-up on the clothesline: “Uniform and cap, / an invite for you. / Big bag of letters. / What job does she do?” A turn of the page reveals a macro view of the home, van and the woman doing her job, “She is a mail carrier.” Indeed, she can be spotted throughout the book delivering invitations to all the rest of the characters, who gather at the end for a “Launch Party.” The verses’ rhymes are spot-on, though the rhythm falters a couple of times. The authors nicely mix up the gender stereotypes often associated with several of these occupations, making the carpenter, firefighter and astronaut women. But while Davies keeps uniforms and props pretty neutral (he even avoids U.S. mail symbols), he keeps to the stereotypes that allow young readers to easily identify occupations—the farmer chews on a stalk of wheat; the beret-wearing artist sports a curly mustache. A subdued palette and plain white backgrounds keep kids’ focus on the clothing clues. Still, there are plenty of details to absorb—the cat with arched back that anticipates a spray of water, the firefighter who “lights” the rocket.
Pair this with Leo Timmers’ Who Is Driving? (2007) for twice the guessing fun. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-58089-251-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Egg-stra special.
The creators of Pick a Pine Tree (2017) and Pick a Pumpkin (2019) cover each step of a popular Easter tradition.
The first stop for a light-skinned caregiver and child is the farm. Peering into the henhouse, they spot an egg (reminding readers that eggs don’t originate at the grocery store). More eggs are collected throughout the spring countryside and brought home, ready to hard boil. While the eggs are cooling, it’s time to prepare the dye! The lively text highlights natural methods first (“Stew some plants / to make a brew: / beets turn eggs / a rosy hue. / Spinach? Green! / Berries? Blue! / Try some herbs / or spices, too”) but also gives a nod to store-bought kits. After a full day of egg decorating, the youngster wakes up the next morning for a festive neighborhood egg hunt. Happily, treats found inside plastic eggs are not limited to sugar only; they include secret notes, tiny toys, and coins, too. (The child adds their dyed eggs to this bounty.) Sprays of bright greens, a shining sun, and dotted buds on trees as well as pastel bunting and fuzzy bunny ears and flower crowns on little ones bring a light, airy lift to this joyful community gathering. The children involved in the egg hunt are diverse in skin tone. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Egg-stra special. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5362-2847-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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