Will this be a popular and raucous first-day-of-school favorite? YES! (Picture book. 3-6)
An interactive look at a young boy’s school day teaches those new to school about routines and manners.
Calmenson, a former kindergarten teacher, savvily encourages the youngest listeners to chime in and be part of the reading process, inviting them in from the very first page: “Would you like to read an Ollie story?” From there, the text takes on a question-and-answer format, with three outlandish questions followed by one realistic one. For school today, will Ollie put on "A bathing suit?...A space suit?...A police officer’s uniform?” Each of these questions is punctuated by a “NO” in large and colorful type. A page turn asks, “Will Ollie put on pants and a shirt, socks and shoes? YES!” Readers are sure to catch the pattern and relish shouting out the answers…after they finish giggling at the silly scenarios, which Carter plays up in her watercolor vignettes and one-page spreads. Ollie is an adorable, rosy-cheeked, blue-eyed blond who ping-pongs between the mischievous imp who practices playing the kazoo during storytime and the perfectly mannered little boy who teaches readers how to behave when meeting friends, answering a teacher’s questions, and getting ready to go home. And when he does get home, he finds not a whale, a juggler or a robot waiting, but someone who loves him.
Will this be a popular and raucous first-day-of-school favorite? YES! (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2377-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
Although the instinct to care for others is important to nurture, this seems like an unnecessary throwback to an earlier era.
It’s not only the patients, but the doctor and nurses who are dolls, too.
Dr. Pegs, a doll with Raggedy Ann–orange hair, a light brown face, and green scrubs, gets overwhelmed when too many patients arrive. There’s Portia, a pretty, brown porcelain doll with a cracked arm, and Scoop, a blond, pink-faced stuffed boy doll with a tummy ache. Then come Baby, a white doll whose talking mechanism is broken (“Instead of saying ‘Mommy,’ she says, ‘MOO!’ ”), and Teddy, a brown bear missing one eye. Dr. Pegs had one chore in mind: to sort the buttons, needed for emergencies. Now she’s terribly flustered and must ring the “special bell” for the Nesting Nurses. A set of nurses with diverse racial identities, resembling Russian wooden dolls, arrives and efficiently solves every toy’s problem, even sorting the pesky buttons. In fact, they do all the work, but Dr. Pegs centers herself when she says “I couldn’t have done it without you.” Collage and digital illustrations have a charming retro look with a palette that relies on red, green, yellow, and brown (and, interestingly, no black), and the text is cumulative in a satisfying way, but the message is mixed. Although the doctor is female and cheerfully thanks her female assistants, she still manages to come out on top. Couldn’t medical teamwork have been shown in a more enlightened way?
Although the instinct to care for others is important to nurture, this seems like an unnecessary throwback to an earlier era. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 5, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0121-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
This fun (for readers) dental visit has underlying lessons of empathy, bravery, and good oral hygiene.
Crocodile has a toothache and goes to see the dentist, but each is afraid of the other.
When Crocodile realizes his tooth hurts, he knows he has to go to the dentist, but he’s afraid. The dentist knows he has to fix Crocodile’s tooth, but he doesn’t want to. They are both scared but choose to be brave and go on with the appointment. The dentist reaches into Crocodile’s mouth and looks at the cavity. Crocodile accidentally bites down on the dentist’s arm when he touches the sore tooth. (It’s not much of a bite, as there is no evident injury.) They both decide to move forward and not get angry about being hurt. In the end, the tooth is fixed, and they are in perfect agreement that neither wants to see the other again—so both are determined that Crocodile “remember to brush [his] teeth!” Using the same words for both the doctor’s and Crocodile’s perspectives, Gomi shows how different people can experience the same emotions, and the characters’ faces and body language emphasize those feelings. With a bold purple, teal, and brown color scheme, the illustrations are done in Gomi’s trademark style. The dentist—the only human character—has dark tan skin and black hair.
This fun (for readers) dental visit has underlying lessons of empathy, bravery, and good oral hygiene. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7028-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
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