A warm, joyful approach to teaching one of life’s important practical considerations.
Filas emphasizes financial responsibility alongside the joys of owning a pet in this illustrated children’s book.
Enamored by the pictures on an animal shelter’s website, young Fizzy and her brother, Jack, ask their mom if they can get a dog from there. Jack explains his inspiration: “My teacher adopted a dog from this place last week, and she said there were so many puppies that needed a home.” Mom wisely reminds the siblings that having a pet is a lot of work, and can be expensive, as well. So Fizzy and Jack research the costs involved in adopting a puppy, from food and vaccinations to toys and a leash, and Mom adds the total to the family budget. The kids make a plan to save money to contribute to caring for a new puppy. They later visit the shelter and meet and adopt “a little brown pup that looked just like a fuzzy teddy bear.” The family call their new dog Bingo, and the kids keep up their end of the bargain to help fund the pet’s care. Toward the end of the book, Fizzy and Jack start a dog-walking business to raise money and look after Bingo at the same time. Roffler’s cartoon illustrations depict a family with pale skin; background characters have a range of skin tones. An image of Fizzy walking a pack of neighborhood dogs on leashes at a park includes a person using a wheelchair, feeding ducks at a pond nearby. The pencil and watercolor illustrations, in muted colors, are essential to the storytelling. The book explains what a budget is and how to make one without being either condescending or brash. Pages dedicated mostly (and sometimes solely) to illustrations reveal fun details of how the kids make their budget, do chores and start a lemonade stand to raise money, and enjoy time with their new pup. The prose is simple and elegant, with dialogue that serves the story and adds color to the characters.
A warm, joyful approach to teaching one of life’s important practical considerations.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9798989380749
Page Count: 36
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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