BEN AND THE SCAREDY-DOG

Name: BEN AND THE SCAREDY-DOG
Author: Sarah Ellis
ISBN: 978-1-77278-044-4

by Sarah Ellis ; illustrated by Kim LaFave ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 2018

Another successful outing in a winning series, with lots of room for more adventures for Ben and his new friends Erv and Max.

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A young boy named Ben makes a new friend and conquers his fear of dogs in this latest offering in a series about learning to deal with new experiences.

In the previous entry in the series, Ben Says Goodbye (2016), the boy had to deal with the loss of his best friend, Peter, when Peter’s family moved away. In this story, Ben watches as a new family moves into the same house, bringing their huge dog with them. Ben and his family are white, and their new neighbors are Asian, with a daughter about Ben’s age named Erv (short for Minerva). When Ben visits Erv at her house, he must face his considerable fear of dogs, including specific worries about canines chasing and biting him “with their strong jaws and big, sharp teeth.” For his part, the friendly dog, Max, is afraid of the slippery, shiny floors in the new house and won’t leave his rug to walk across the floor. Boy and dog conquer their respective fears, with a final, wordless page showing Ben leading Max by his leash as they follow Erv out to play. Ben’s fear of dogs is sensitively portrayed in a text that skillfully interweaves exposition, questions, and dialogue, with Ben’s internal musings set in italics. Amusing illustrations in watercolor and ink make effective use of heavy outlines and copious white space for a clean, contemporary look.

Another successful outing in a winning series, with lots of room for more adventures for Ben and his new friends Erv and Max. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: June 15, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-77278-044-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Pajama Press

Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
DODGER BOY
by Sarah Ellis

- BOOK REVIEW
WAITING FOR SOPHIE
by Sarah Ellis ; illustrated by Carmen Mok

- BOOK REVIEW
BEN SAYS GOODBYE
by Sarah Ellis ; illustrated by Kim LaFave

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IZZY GIZMO AND THE INVENTION CONVENTION

From the Izzy Gizmo series

by Pip Jones ; illustrated by Sara Ogilvie ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2020

A disappointing follow-up.

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Inventor Izzy Gizmo is back in this sequel to her eponymous debut (2017).

While busily inventing one day, Izzy receives an invitation from the Genius Guild to their annual convention. Though Izzy’s “inventions…don’t always work,” Grandpa (apparently her sole caregiver) encourages her to go. The next day they undertake a long journey “over fields, hills, and waves” and “mile after mile” to isolated Technoff Isle. There, Izzy finds she must compete against four other kids to create the most impressive machine. The colorful, detail-rich illustrations chronicle how poor Izzy is thwarted at every turn by Abi von Lavish, a Veruca Salt–esque character who takes all the supplies for herself. But when Abi abandons her project, Izzy salvages the pieces and decides to take Grandpa’s advice to create a machine that “can really be put to good use.” A frustrated Izzy’s impatience with a friend almost foils her chance at the prize, but all’s well that ends well. There’s much to like: Brown-skinned inventor girl Izzy is an appealing character, it’s great to see a nurturing brown-skinned male caregiver, the idea of an “Invention Convention” is fun, and a sustainable-energy invention is laudable. However, these elements don’t make up for rhymes that often feel forced and a lackluster story.

A disappointing follow-up. (Picture book. 3-6)