bookshelf

BOGART AND VINNIE

Name: BOGART AND VINNIE
Author: Audrey Vernick
ISBN: 978-0-8027-2822-7

A COMPLETELY MADE-UP STORY OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP

by Audrey Vernick ; illustrated by Henry Cole ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 18, 2013

Diverting and comical.

bookshelf

This story of an unlikely animal friendship is an unnecessary send-up of the plethora of videotaped accounts of interspecies pals but still has its charms.

Ever since, and possibly before, Horton decided to sit on that egg, the celebration of warm bonds between disparate animals has been a staple of picture-book friendship stories. A “crazy-happy” dog finds himself in a wild-animal preserve, where he discovers intriguing new friends: a pair of zebras, five brightly colored parrots and, finally, the impressively horned Bogart, a square-lipped (white) rhinoceros. Enthusiastic Vinnie wears his doggy heart on his sleeve; Bogart remains impassive, stoic and long-suffering as he endures the attentions of the dog. Cole, impressively versatile as always, here works in a style that calls to mind animated Saturday-morning cartoons: Big gestures, broad expressions, round eyes and bright colors, along with dialogue balloons for irrepressible Vinnie, give each spread a lighthearted energy. Children won’t need—or won’t get—the jokes about fleeting Internet fame (news is news whatever its medium), but they may enjoy the irony in the rosy spin that everyone puts on this animal friendship, and children who enjoy occasional solitude may sigh on poor Bogart’s behalf. In a final satirical wink at the way humans admire and celebrate these sorts of animal connections, Vinnie’s boy and his family adopt not only the rhino, but also the zebras and parrots, to the dismay of their own, same-species, neighbors.

Diverting and comical. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 18, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-8027-2822-7

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Walker

Review Posted Online: April 14, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORLD'S BEST CLASS PLANT
by Liz Garton Scanlon & Audrey Vernick ; illustrated by Lynnor Bontigao

- BOOK REVIEW
ALL STAR
by Audrey Vernick ; illustrated by Cannaday Chapman

- BOOK REVIEW
SCARLET'S TALE
by Audrey Vernick ; illustrated by Jarvis

bookshelf

ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

bookshelf

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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

bookshelf

BUDDY'S NEW BUDDY

From the Growing With Buddy series , Vol. 3

by Christina Geist ; illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2022

Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient.

bookshelf

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)