Little brother Tommy is a perpetual-motion machine, and he is driving his family bonkers.
The tireless tyke bounces like a pogo stick, kicks like a bulldozer, clomps like an elephant and jumps hurdles like an antelope. He never stops, putting his parents and sister into an exhausted state of weary exasperation. Fortunately his sister, attired in a pink tutu, comes up with a solution and hands Tommy a pair of tap shoes. No pink! No tutus! But tap-dance class is a revelation. The teacher also bounces like a pogo stick. No, she informs Tommy, she is performing a “HOP.” The teacher kicks like a bulldozer. No, she informs Tommy, she is performing a “BRUSH.” Tommy is thrilled and is soon appearing on stage in a solo. Broadway veteran and middle-grade novelist Federle has good fun with language and similes in his picture-book debut. His little tapper is a strong and sturdy boy who finds the perfect outlet for his volcanic energy. Fearing’s full-bleed artwork is full of motion, with his Tommy sporting a mop of blond hair and googly eyes. An animated line of dashes that flits around the apartment allows readers to truly appreciate Tommy’s energy spurts.
An enjoyable performance for both the boisterous and the calm. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6917-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
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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 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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How do you make a new friend when an old one moves away?
Buddy (from Sorry, Grown-Ups, You Can’t Go to School, 2019, etc.) is feeling lonely. His best friend just moved across town. To make matters worse, there is a field trip coming up, and Buddy needs a bus partner. His sister, Lady, has some helpful advice for making a new pal: “You just need to find something you have in common.” Buddy loves the game Robo Chargers and karate. Surely there is someone else who does, too! Unfortunately, there isn’t. However, when a new student arrives (one day later) and asks everyone to call her Sunny instead of Alison, Buddy gets excited. No one uses his given name, either; they just call him Buddy. He secretly whispers his “real, official name” to Sunny at lunch—an indication that a true friendship is being formed. The rest of the story plods merrily along, all pieces falling exactly into place (she even likes Robo Chargers!), accompanied by Bowers’ digital art, a mix of spot art and full-bleed illustrations. Friendship-building can be an emotionally charged event in a child’s life—young readers will certainly see themselves in Buddy’s plight—but, alas, there is not much storytelling magic to be found. Buddy and his family are White, Sunny and Mr. Teacher are Black, and Buddy’s other classmates are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-30709-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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