A snow book that deserves a warm reception from new readers.
Anti-social high jinks deliver a lesson in kindness and in learning to read.
Bunny wants to play in the snow, but her fun is undermined when Red plays jokes on her that are only funny to him. He hits her with a snowball, steals her hat, makes her snow angel into a snow devil and pushes her off a sled. Other friends come to her defense at the last offense, but Red is unmoved. He then pushes her and two others while skating, but he ends up falling, too. Schadenfreude is apparent as Red cries on the ground while the others laugh and Bunny declares, “That’s a good joke!” This sentiment soon slips away, however, when Red sits sulking on the porch while Bunny and her friends enjoy hot cocoa indoors. Not wanting to be a bully herself, Bunny brings Red a mug and they make amends. A quick (perhaps too quick?) resolution follows with Red telling a good joke to everyone, which they all like. Readers can find that joke on the rear endpapers and will recognize part of its punch line in the title itself. Degen’s cartoonish illustrations center on expressive, endearing, anthropomorphic animal characters. Pleasing, painterly backgrounds avoid cluttering the pages to allow easy decoding of the controlled text.
A snow book that deserves a warm reception from new readers. (Early reader. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3065-9
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2014
Totes adorbs.
A cuddly, squishy pug’s puggy-wuggy diary.
Equipped with both #pugunicorn and #pughotdog outfits, pug Baron von Bubbles (aka Bub) is the kind of dog that always dresses to impress. Bub also makes lots of memorable faces, such as the “Hey, you’re not the boss of me!” expression aimed at Duchess, the snooty pink house cat. Some of Bub’s favorite things include skateboarding, a favorite teddy, and eating peanut butter. Bub also loves Bella, who adopted Bub from a fair—it was “love at first sniff.” Together, Bub and Bella do a lot of arts and crafts. Their latest project: entering Bella’s school’s inventor challenge by making a super-duper awesome rocket. But, when the pesky neighborhood squirrel, Nutz, makes off with Bub’s bear, Bub accidentally ruins their project. How will they win the contest? More importantly, how will Bella ever forgive him? May’s cutesy, full-color cartoon art sets the tone for this pug-tastic romp for the new-to–chapter-books crowd. Emojilike faces accentuate Bub’s already expressive character design. Bub’s infectious first-person narration pushes the silly factor off the charts. In addition to creating the look and feel of a diary, the lined paper helps readers follow the eight-chapter story. Most pages have fewer than five sentences, often broken into smaller sections. Additional text appears in color-coded speech bubbles. Bella presents white.
Totes adorbs. (Fiction. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-53003-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
A strong, accessible diary story for readers seeking an adorable animal tale.
Bub the anxious pug tackles snow days and new neighbors in his second outing.
Bub, acclaimed by some as “the cutest pug on the planet,” at first shares the enthusiasm owner Bella expresses about snow days even though he doesn’t know what they are. Then Duchess the cat (mildly antagonistic, in typical feline fashion) rains on Bub’s parade by pointing out that snow is water—and Bub’s no fan of rain or baths. After a comedic and disastrous first attempt, Bub learns how to properly dress for snow and enjoy it. The outdoor fun’s cut short by mysterious noises coming from the new neighbor, which frighten Bella into thinking there’s a monster. Bub puts on a Sherlock Holmes get-up to investigate but becomes afraid himself of the new neighbor’s large dog. Finally, Bella meets Jack, who’s been working on a tree fort, and his dog, Luna, who is enthusiastically friendly. The story ends on a positive note, as they all happily work together on the fort. The full-color cartoon illustrations, especially of Bub, are adorably expressive and certain to please the age group. The generous font and format—short, diary-entry paragraphs and speech-bubble conversations—create a quick pace. Bub’s stylized emoji bubbles return and are most hilarious when used to express his nervous flatulence. Bella and Jack both present white.
A strong, accessible diary story for readers seeking an adorable animal tale. (Fantasy. 5-7)Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-53006-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
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