This companion to Alphabet Trains (2015) and Alphabet Trucks (2013) offers opportunities for classroom use as well as...
Ahoy! “Raise the anchor. / Grab the oars. / Chart a course / to distant shores.”
The opening rhyme sets the scene for this alphabetic litany of boats. Who knew there were so many types? Each letter/type occupies a single page and is accompanied by a simple, one- or two-sentence definition. Some are obvious choices: C for catamaran; K for kayak; T for tugboat. Others are more obscure, at least to outsiders to sailing culture: Q for Q-boat, an armed merchant ship; X for X boat, a small dinghy used to teach beginners. A few are real things but may seem forced to those not in the know: N for narrow boat; V for very slender vessel. Most are presented in a clear context, and for those that are not (U for umiak, “used for migration and trade”; Z for zebec, “a merchant ship light and fast”), readers may consult the closing glossary for a bit more information. The computer art is attractive, adding whimsy by incorporating the letters into each picture. For instance, the illustration of the dory shows people fishing and reeling in D’s instead of fish, and the submarine browses the depths surrounded by fish and S’s.
This companion to Alphabet Trains (2015) and Alphabet Trucks (2013) offers opportunities for classroom use as well as learning for boat enthusiasts. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 17, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-58089-731-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2018
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A goofy romp that will fit right in with elementary school science lessons.
Silly meets science in this title inspired by Archimedes’ principle.
Archie (get it?) the goat and Skinny the hen need to deliver three barrels of buttermilk to the queen—a pig who looks like she might have come from the pen of Steig himself—in her moated castle. Rejecting the drawbridge in the name of “Science!” they embark on a process of trial and error to float the barrels across the moat. While this may not be much of an elevator pitch, this story sure does make for a terrific picture-book read, due in large part to the hilarity of Cordell’s watercolor illustrations embellished with pen and ink. Archie first tries to float on a full barrel of buttermilk, but it sinks. Undeterred, he tells Skinny to drink the buttermilk from the second barrel. She does and, not so skinny any longer, heaves the empty barrel with Archie upon it into the water. This one does float, but unsteadily so. The third try is a charm as Skinny drains just half of its buttermilk, creating a seaworthy vessel. The queen pig is none too pleased to have five-sixths of her buttermilk in either the moat or the hen, but it was all “in the name of science,” explains the placid Archie as a bloated Skinny belches her affirmation.
A goofy romp that will fit right in with elementary school science lessons. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: July 9, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4169-9763-4
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013
Thank you, Gerald and Piggie. We’ll miss you
Piggie is “one lucky pig,” and she’s determined to make sure she thanks “everyone who is important to” her in this, the final Elephant & Piggie book.
Gerald is sure his friend will forget someone—“someone important”—but Piggie assures him, “It will be a THANK-O-RAMA!” Piggie proceeds to thank the Squirrels for their great ideas, Snake for playing ball, and the Pigeon “for never giving up.” Piggie thanks and thanks: “I am a thanking machine!” She thanks character after character, even the Flies (“Any time, dude!”), as Gerald continues to interject that she’ll forget “someone VERY important.” Finally Piggie runs out of thanks, and by this time Gerald is steamed. “I goofed,” Piggie says in itty-bitty type, before lavishing thanks on Gerald. But that’s not whom Piggie forgot to thank! A classic Willems tantrum later, Gerald reveals the “someone important”: “Our reader.” Of course. “We could not be ‘us’ without you,” says Gerald, earnestly looking out from the page, and Piggie chimes in, “You are the best!” As Elephant & Piggie books go, this isn’t one of the strongest, but it is a validating valediction to fans of the two characters, who have won Willems two Geisel Medals and five Honors. Yes, Gerald and Piggie have ushered countless readers into literacy, but as they rightly note, reading is a collaborative act.
Thank you, Gerald and Piggie. We’ll miss you . (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: May 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4231-7828-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2016
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