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THAT FRUIT IS MINE!

Name: THAT FRUIT IS MINE!
Author: Anuska Allepuz
ISBN: 978-0-8075-7894-0

by Anuska Allepuz ; illustrated by Anuska Allepuz ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2018

A solid title that emphasizes the importance of teamwork and cooperation to get to your desired fruit.

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Five little mice show five elephants the power of teamwork in this debut picture book.

Five elephants, living deep in the heart of the jungle, love fruit. One day, they see “the MOST delicious-looking exotic fruit” on a very tall tree, and each of them wants to eat it. While they try, one by one, to reach the fruit in ingenious but varying ways (“MINE!”), a group of five tiny mice, barely noticeable at first, work together to reach the golden yellow fruit and soon carry it away (“OURS!”). Illustrations are cartoonlike and expressive, with different shades of vibrant green for the jungle flora and the elephants and mice in different shades of brown and gray. Using the collaborative example set by the mice, the elephants now use their previous, individual ideas to work as a team, bringing down those delicious fruits and enjoying them together (OURS!”), except for Elephant Two, who is still gliding through the air on a leaf parachute! The elephants’ part of the story is conveyed in conventionally laid out sans-serif print, while the mice’s part is set in a significantly smaller, faux typescript face that works dynamically within the illustrations, bunching up behind the mice as they climb and swinging out as they approach the hanging fruit.

A solid title that emphasizes the importance of teamwork and cooperation to get to your desired fruit. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 1, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-8075-7894-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Whitman

Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ONE LIGHT
by Christie Matheson ; illustrated by Anuska Allepuz

- BOOK REVIEW
THE DREAM TRAIN
by Sean Taylor ; illustrated by Anuska Allepuz

- BOOK REVIEW
A BEAR IS A BEAR
by Karl Newson ; illustrated by Anuska Allepuz

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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THE COOL BEAN MAKES A SPLASH

From the I Can Read! series

by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2024

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.

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The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.

Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)