Attractive, slyly humorous illustrations, simple text and a related craft included at the end all serve to make this a...
In his fourth outing for emergent readers, Boris, a warthog, shares a camping misadventure with his two friends, Frederick and Alice.
Boris’ parents help the trio set up in the backyard for their night of camping. The first several pages all feature bits of brief text—“Dad helped them light a campfire”—that sharply and humorously contrast with the cartoon illustrations, as, for example, Dad tries and tries but can’t quite get the fire started. Eventually, Mom and Dad go off to bed, leaving the brave campers to gradually become frightened of the breezy night. One after another, they head out, the first looking for a safer spot and the other two searching for their missing friend. Reunited, hiding under a shrub, they notice a bright—and very scary—light beyond the fence. (It turns out to be a neighbor trying out his new putter while wearing a caving helmet.) In a predictable conclusion, the children finally opt to sleep indoors. Like others in this series, this brief effort has the shape of an early chapter book but the content of a very early reader, giving children a welcome sense of accomplishment as they breeze through it.
Attractive, slyly humorous illustrations, simple text and a related craft included at the end all serve to make this a welcome addition to collections for beginning readers. (Early reader. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-48454-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Branches/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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