Despite the degree of gross humor, Shulman has picked a delightful winner.
It takes something special to get a kid to stop picking his nose—that's just what happens to one unlucky child in Shulman’s (Monster Bash, 2009) story for primary-grade readers.
Nose-picking is a rather touchy subject for kids. They love to laugh about it even as they keep picking, much to the frustration and disgust of parents. In Shulman’s engaging read, one child learns the hard way why nose-picking can be something others find distasteful, particularly when the digging is done in public places. Synonyms for boogers are legion; most could be categorized as regional slang or just in the questionable vocabulary of the young and young at heart. Called boogies, floaters and plenty more, their popularity–grossness factor has never been in doubt. Consequently, nose-picking has been mined by many authors in the world of young adult and children's literature: Writers such as Carolyn Beck (Richard Was a Picker) and Gordon Korman (the Nose Pickers From Outer Space series) have tackled admittedly crude subject matter, typically in a grossly humorous and slightly educational manner. Shulman's light tale takes a similar slant, showing the negative aspects of nose-picking via the amusing situation of an old man rooting in his nostrils next to a mom and her nose-picking–addicted son, and the subsequent gross-out that encounter entails. Richly illustrated by Mike Motz, the wildly vivid, colorful drawings provide a freshness and dry sarcasm to the tale. The young nose-picker learns how his obsession differs from his dad's with ear hair or his grandfather's with fake teeth. Of course, some readers may find the story a bit over the top in regard to its descriptive prose and illustrated mucus—particularly the green slime wearing pilot's goggles—but for others, Shulman's tale could be the perfect way to break a child's bad habit.
Despite the degree of gross humor, Shulman has picked a delightful winner.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0984179411
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lillian Blanche
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A lovely encouragement to young writers to persist.
This follow-up to How To Read a Story (2005) shows a child going through the steps of creating a story, from choosing an idea through sharing with friends.
A young black child lies in a grassy field writing in a journal, working on “Step 1 / Search for an Idea— / a shiny one.” During a walk to the library, various ideas float in colorful thought bubbles, with exclamation points: “playing soccer! / dogs!” Inside the library, less-distinct ideas, expressed as shapes and pictures, with question marks, float about as the writer collects ideas to choose from. The young writer must then choose a setting, a main character, and a problem for that protagonist. Plotting, writing with detail, and revising are described in child-friendly terms and shown visually, in the form of lists and notes on faux pieces of paper. Finally, the writer sits in the same field, in a new season, sharing the story with friends. The illustrations feature the child’s writing and drawing as well as images of imagined events from the book in progress bursting off the page. The child’s main character is an adventurous mermaid who looks just like the child, complete with afro-puff pigtails, representing an affirming message about writing oneself into the world. The child’s family, depicted as black, moves in the background of the setting, which is also populated by a multiracial cast.
A lovely encouragement to young writers to persist. (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4521-5666-8
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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Energetic enough to carry younger rocketeers off the launch pad if not into a very high orbit.
The bubble-helmeted feline explains what rockets do and the role they have played in sending people (and animals) into space.
Addressing a somewhat younger audience than in previous outings (Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space, 2013, etc.), Astro Cat dispenses with all but a light shower of “factoroids” to describe how rockets work. A highly selective “History of Space Travel” follows—beginning with a crew of fruit flies sent aloft in 1947, later the dog Laika (her dismal fate left unmentioned), and the human Yuri Gagarin. Then it’s on to Apollo 11 in 1969; the space shuttles Discovery, Columbia, and Challenger (the fates of the latter two likewise elided); the promise of NASA’s next-gen Orion and the Space Launch System; and finally vague closing references to other rockets in the works for local tourism and, eventually, interstellar travel. In the illustrations the spacesuited professor, joined by a mouse and cat in similar dress, do little except float in space and point at things. Still, the art has a stylish retro look, and portraits of Sally Ride and Guion Bluford diversify an otherwise all-white, all-male astronaut corps posing heroically or riding blocky, geometric spacecraft across starry reaches.
Energetic enough to carry younger rocketeers off the launch pad if not into a very high orbit. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-911171-55-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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