Will likely please little cavepersons.
Club in hand, Caveboy can do anything!
Caveboy lives with his mother, father, little sister (all pale-skinned), and smiling pet rock in a cave (obviously). His most important possession is his club; every caveperson needs a club. Clubs are good for thumping most things (just not mammoths) and reaching things (but maybe not beehives). The best thing that clubs are good for is playing baseskull (in which an evidently human skull acts as ball). Caveboy is very confident in his baseskull skills. He asks Mama to play catch with him…he’s not very good. She tells him to practice, but he doesn’t need it. He gets Papa to pitch to him; turns out Caveboy isn’t much good as a batter, but he still doesn’t want to practice. When he gets his little sister to pitch to him (still without practice), the unthinkable happens: his club breaks, setting up the second story in this three-episode volume, in which she searches for a new club and meets a new friend, a girl with dark skin. Bardhan-Quallen adds another funny series to Bloomsbury’s line of transitional readers. The simple sentences, use of repeated words, and ample white space make this a great first step away from early readers for those approaching chapters. Here, each chapter’s a self-contained story. Wight’s full-color watercolor-appearing illustrations are jewel-eyed, cartoony, and fun. Sequel Caveboy Is Bored! publishes simultaneously.
Will likely please little cavepersons. (Fantasy. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61963-986-7
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees.
After Duncan finds his crayons gone—yet again—letters arrive, detailing their adventures in friendship.
Eleven crayons send missives from their chosen spots throughout Duncan’s home (and one from his classroom). Red enjoys the thrill of extinguishing “pretend fires” with Duncan’s toy firetruck. White, so often dismissed as invisible, finds a new calling subbing in for the missing queen on the black-and-white chessboard. “Now everyone ALWAYS SEES ME!…(Well, half the time!)” Pink’s living the dream as a pastry chef helming the Breezy Bake Oven, “baking everything from little cupcakes…to…OTHER little cupcakes!” Teal, who’s hitched a ride to school in Duncan’s backpack, meets the crayons in the boy’s desk and writes, “Guess what? I HAVE A TWIN! How come you never told me?” Duncan wants to see his crayons and “meet their new friends.” A culminating dinner party assembles the crayons and their many guests: a table tennis ball, dog biscuits, a well-loved teddy bear, and more. The premise—personified crayons, away and back again—is well-trammeled territory by now, after over a dozen books and spinoffs, and Jeffers once more delivers his signature cartooning and hand-lettering. Though the pages lack the laugh-out-loud sight gags and side-splittingly funny asides of previous outings, readers—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals.
Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780593622360
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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