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AHOY, UNCLE ROY!

Name: AHOY, UNCLE ROY!
Author: Sarah Albee
ISBN: 0-307-26216-2

ROAD TO READING: MILE 2

by Sarah Albee & illustrated by Ilja Bereznickas ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2001

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Walter is a modern boy in jeans and baseball cap who describes his uncle Roy’s ideal “job” as the captain of a pirate ship in this mildly amusing but ultimately unsuccessful mid-level easy reader. The narrator might be a 21st-century boy, but the pirates must be from a previous century because they’re clearly not a politically correct crew: lots of peg legs and eye patches, no ethnic diversity, and no women crew members. (Historically, there were a few women pirates.) The only female in the story is the narrator’s mother, shown in her dress and apron serving coffee to her husband, who is relaxing in his easy chair. Most problematic is the boss of all the pirates, who has a hook replacing one hand, a particular point of objection for advocates for the physically disabled, who have strongly objected to the negative stereotyping of prosthetic devices on pirates first evidenced with Captain Hook in Peter Pan. Albee’s (The Oreo Cookie Counting Book, not reviewed, etc.) text has a controlled vocabulary, but there is no structured pattern as stated in the specifications on the back cover for this level of easy reader. The text is not predictable from the illustrations, and much of the dry humor (Uncle Roy’s “office has a great view”—the ocean from the deck of the ship) will not be easily understood by new readers. (Easy reader. 5-7)

Pub Date: July 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-307-26216-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Golden Books/Random

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2001

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
ZERO! THE NUMBER THAT ALMOST WASN'T
by Sarah Albee ; illustrated by Chris Hsu

- BOOK REVIEW
BOUNCE!
by Sarah Albee ; illustrated by Eileen Ryan Ewen

- BOOK REVIEW
THE PAINTER AND THE PRESIDENT
by Sarah Albee ; illustrated by Stacy Innerst

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THE BEST CHEF IN SECOND GRADE

by Katharine Kenah & illustrated by Abby Carter ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2007

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An impending school visit by a celebrity chef sends budding cook Ollie into a tailspin. He and his classmates are supposed to bring a favorite family food for show and tell, but his family doesn’t have a clear choice—besides, his little sister Rosy doesn’t like much of anything. What to do? As in their previous two visits to Room 75, Kenah builds suspense while keeping the tone light, and Carter adds both bright notes of color and familiar home and school settings in her cartoon illustrations. Eventually, Ollie winkles favorite ingredients out of his clan, which he combines into a mac-and-cheese casserole with a face on top that draws delighted praise from the class’s renowned guest. As Ollie seems to do his kitchen work without parental assistance, a cautionary tip or two (and maybe a recipe) might not have gone amiss here, but the episode’s mouthwatering climax and resolution will guarantee smiles of contentment all around. (Easy reader. 6-7)

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2007

ISBN: 978-0-06-053561-2

Page Count: 48

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2007

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BEST SEAT IN KINDERGARTEN
by Katharine Kenah ; illustrated by Abby Carter

- BOOK REVIEW
THE VERY STUFFED TURKEY
by Katharine Kenah ; illustrated by Binny Talib

- BOOK REVIEW
FERRY TAIL
by Katharine Kenah ; illustrated by Nicole Wong

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SEE PIP POINT

From the Adventures of Otto series

by David Milgrim & illustrated by David Milgrim ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2003

Emergent readers will like the humor in little Pip’s pointed requests, and more engaging adventures for Otto and Pip will be...

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In his third beginning reader about Otto the robot, Milgrim (See Otto, 2002, etc.) introduces another new friend for Otto, a little mouse named Pip.

The simple plot involves a large balloon that Otto kindly shares with Pip after the mouse has a rather funny pointing attack. (Pip seems to be in that I-point-and-I-want-it phase common with one-year-olds.) The big purple balloon is large enough to carry Pip up and away over the clouds, until Pip runs into Zee the bee. (“Oops, there goes Pip.”) Otto flies a plane up to rescue Pip (“Hurry, Otto, Hurry”), but they crash (and splash) in front of some hippos with another big balloon, and the story ends as it begins, with a droll “See Pip point.” Milgrim again succeeds in the difficult challenge of creating a real, funny story with just a few simple words. His illustrations utilize lots of motion and basic geometric shapes with heavy black outlines, all against pastel backgrounds with text set in an extra-large typeface.

Emergent readers will like the humor in little Pip’s pointed requests, and more engaging adventures for Otto and Pip will be welcome additions to the limited selection of funny stories for children just beginning to read. (Easy reader. 5-7)