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HOW TO AVOID THE FEARSOME CAT

Name: HOW TO AVOID THE FEARSOME CAT
Author: Yoon Jeong Choi
ISBN: 978-1-939248-14-5

From the TanTan Math Story series

by Yoon Jeong Choi ; illustrated by Hyun Kyeong Shim ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2018

There are better books about both graphing and belling the cat; skip this combination.

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A community of mice uses brainstorming, voting, and graphing to determine how to deal with a cat.

Fifteen mice are living large for the winter until the farmer’s cat leaves them an ominous note. Old Grandfather Mouse recalls a similar situation when they tied something around the cat’s neck, but he can’t remember what. The mice brainstorm solutions and ways to cast votes. Five line up behind a lock—something heavy that will slow the cat—and 10 behind a feather—something light that they can hang easily. They stack chestnuts to vote for a stinky, bright, or noisy thing. Many votes and graphs later, they have their solution, much to the cat’s chagrin. Three unobtrusive text boxes provide further information about graphs, but they are not always written at a child’s level: “A bar graph is drawn with the research objects on one side and numbers on the other side.” The illustrations juxtapose rustic details against the rather jarring looks of the characters. The mice are not cute but angular and toothy, and the cat’s looks are unsettling. Stylized and rough, the graphs are not always easy to read, making this unsuitable as a first introduction. Backmatter includes a note to adults and two spreads of activities allowing kids to practice by filling blank boxes with their answers (there is no answer key).

There are better books about both graphing and belling the cat; skip this combination. (Picture book. 6-10)

Pub Date: May 1, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-939248-14-5

Page Count: 38

Publisher: TanTan

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

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LITTLE DAYMOND LEARNS TO EARN

by Daymond John ; illustrated by Nicole Miles ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2023

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.

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How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!

John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)

Pub Date: March 21, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

From the Three-Ring Rascals series , Vol. 1

by Kate Klise ; illustrated by M. Sarah Klise ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 10, 2013

Most children will agree the book is “smafunderful (smart + fun + wonderful).” (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-10)

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In this entertaining chapter book, the first in a series, readers meet kind Sir Sidney and the gentle performers and hands in his circus. But Sir Sidney is tired and leaves the circus under the management of new-hire Barnabas Brambles for a week.

That Sir Sidney is beloved by all is quickly established, presenting a sharp contrast to the bully Brambles. The scoundrel immediately comes up with a “to do” list that includes selling the animals and eliminating the mice Bert and Gert. (Gert is almost more distressed by Brambles’ ill-fitting suit and vows to tailor it.) Revealed almost entirely through dialogue, the put-upon animals’ solidarity is endearing. The story, like the circus train now driven by the Famous Flying Banana Brothers, takes absurd loops and turns. The art is fully integrated, illustrating the action and supplementing the text with speech bubbles, facsimile letters and posters, Brambles’ profit-and-loss notes, examples of Gert’s invented vocabulary and more. Brambles’ plans go awry, of course, and he gets his comeuppance. With Bert and Gert acting as his conscience, along with a suit from Gert that finally fits and a dose of forgiveness, Brambles makes a turnaround. Sensitive children may doubt Sir Sidney’s wisdom in leaving his animals with an unscrupulous man, and the closing message is a tad didactic, but that doesn’t blunt the fun too much.

Most children will agree the book is “smafunderful (smart + fun + wonderful).” (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 7-10)