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BENJAMIN'S BLUE FEET

Name: BENJAMIN'S BLUE FEET
Author: Sue Macartney
ISBN: 978-1-77278-111-3

by Sue Macartney ; illustrated by Sue Macartney ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 16, 2020

Water-pollution discussion requires an extra step beyond the reading, but this a good place to start.

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A bird learns self-acceptance in this tale with a concealed environmental message.

Benjamin, a blue-footed booby, loves to go treasure hunting on his beach. He tugs a long, red “string-stretch-it” (an elastic band) out of the sand, and a round “hmmm…a…hole-thing-um” (a silicon wristband) is a delightful find. But when he finds a shiny “twink-um-doodle” (a mirror), he declares that to be the best treasure of all. He can see himself reflected for the first time! Unfortunately, he doesn’t like what he sees. His beak is too long, his wings are too wide, and his feet are too blue. Benjamin decides to use his treasures to change how he looks. He squeezes into the “hole-thing-um,” ties the “string-stretch-its” around his feet, and fastens other treasures all around. But now, he can hardly move. Luckily, he breaks free and becomes thankful for his original features. Macartney never explicitly mentions the word “trash,” but it is clear to eagle-eyed observers what Benjamin’s “treasures” really are. Benjamin’s quirky names for all of the items he finds add levity, but many other creatures on the island have heavy-lidded stares, making them look sleepy or ill (except when they are laughing at Benjamin). (Editor’s note: An author’s note about ocean trash has been appended to the finished book.)

Water-pollution discussion requires an extra step beyond the reading, but this a good place to start. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: June 16, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-77278-111-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Pajama Press

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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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)