by Steve Henry ; illustrated by Steve Henry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2013
Plenty of visual cues, lots of repetition and a clear story arc make this a perfect choice for beginning readers—and parents...
This cheery entry in the I Like to Read series successfully tells a simple tale and creates a sense of community using just 20 unique words.
Short, declarative sentences describe the action. Cat enters a house, climbs up three floors and finds a cozy room just big enough to make a perfect home. Colorful, cartoon-style illustrations help fill in the details. The eponymous hero is a round, yellow cat with a shy smile who starts out shivering on a cold and snowy sidewalk. Jumping into an open window, he lands in a snug cellar, where he meets a friendly rat who sends him up the stairs. The animals who live in the upper stories welcome Cat and offer gifts that reflect their interests. When “Cat [meets] Dog,” who sits in a cozy armchair surrounded by bookshelves, Cat leaves with a book tucked under his arm. Rabbit, an enthusiastic gardener, gives him a small potted plant, Bird offers a painting, and Elephant takes time out from playing the piano to provide a hot cup of tea. By the end, “Cat [is] happy,” and readers will be too.
Plenty of visual cues, lots of repetition and a clear story arc make this a perfect choice for beginning readers—and parents pressed for time will likely be happy to find such a short, sweet read-aloud. (Early reader.4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2659-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
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by Tom Percival ; illustrated by Tom Percival ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2019
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their...
Ruby is an adventurous and happy child until the day she discovers a Worry.
Ruby barely sees the Worry—depicted as a blob of yellow with a frowny unibrow—at first, but as it hovers, the more she notices it and the larger it grows. The longer Ruby is affected by this Worry, the fewer colors appear on the page. Though she tries not to pay attention to the Worry, which no one else can see, ignoring it prevents her from enjoying the things that she once loved. Her constant anxiety about the Worry causes the bright yellow blob to crowd Ruby’s everyday life, which by this point is nearly all washes of gray and white. But at the playground, Ruby sees a boy sitting on a bench with a growing sky-blue Worry of his own. When she invites the boy to talk, his Worry begins to shrink—and when Ruby talks about her own Worry, it also grows smaller. By the book’s conclusion, Ruby learns to control her Worry by talking about what worries her, a priceless lesson for any child—or adult—conveyed in a beautifully child-friendly manner. Ruby presents black, with hair in cornrows and two big afro-puff pigtails, while the boy has pale skin and spiky black hair.
A valuable asset to the library of a child who experiences anxiety and a great book to get children talking about their feelings (. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0237-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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by Craig Smith ; illustrated by Katz Cowley ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2010
Hee haw.
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The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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