Children will surely want their own large brown reading buddies after listening to this book about the joys and challenges...
Dogs (and other children) are often used as reading buddies in schools and libraries, but bears may seem a bit unusual in that role.
When school starts, Mrs. Fitz-Pea pairs up her students as reading buddies, but Adelaide has a surprise. She brings her own buddy, a large brown bear in a bright blue, patterned ski sweater. Although the teacher is frightened (she literally screams: “AHHHHH!”), Adelaide is quick to describe the talents of bears. “They know how to build peaceful places where no one bothers you while you read. They sit side by side, knee to knee, and put the book between you, so you both can see.” In this double-page spread, Adelaide and her bear are pictured inside a flowered tent sitting on colorful pillows atop a granny-square afghan. Bears also encourage their human partners and “roar” their approval. When Adelaide finishes singing her bear’s praises, Mrs. Fitz-Pea invites him in. The digital artwork has a retro look, and there is diversity in the classroom, including an African-American teacher. Bespectacled Adelaide, pale-skinned and dark-haired, uses some sophisticated language and says: “Bears know that once you get a taste for books, you’ll discover trail after trail of adventure and clamber to new heights.”
Children will surely want their own large brown reading buddies after listening to this book about the joys and challenges of reading. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62370-654-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
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BOOK REVIEW
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