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THE QUEST FOR A TANGRAM DRAGON

Inviting, if more utilitarian than literary.

Introducing the classic puzzle known as the tangram, a simple tale shows how seven geometric shapes can be arranged into a host of animals and other things.

“Nǐ hǎo! Hello!” While searching for a dragon to bring rain to the dry land, Little Triangle meets and makes a butterfly with Second Little Triangle. The duo encounters Square, and they all combine to create a bat. Parallelogram, Medium Triangle, and a pair of Big Triangles join the fray—until at last all assemble into a dragon that soars into the sky to create clouds. Scurfield draws simple faces but leaves the shapes intact in the illustrations so that hands-on readers have the option of placing their own “tans” from an attached sheet of cutouts (not seen) on top of each. In several full-spread galleries, she adds dozens of other tangram figures to create. Along with noting in the afterword that the seven pieces can be made into thousands more, Liu-Perkins looks at the many ways this low-tech puzzle promotes concentration and persistence, teaches mathematical concepts, and fosters creativity and storytelling skills. She also traces its history and uses in China, where it was invented, and beyond, and notes that the animals that the shapes form have cultural significance in China. The plotline may be too rudimentary to excite much response in younger audiences, but this may well open a gateway to hours, if not years, of mind-expanding play.

Inviting, if more utilitarian than literary. (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2024

ISBN: 9781547608058

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024

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WE ARE GROWING!

From the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! series

Amusing, yes. Useful for reading practice, yes, but not necessarily guaranteed to make new readers the “read-i-est.” (Early...

Elephant and Piggie make an appearance to introduce the first in their new series, an egalitarian introduction to superlatives.

Each one of seven blades of talking grass—of a total of eight—discovers that it is superb at something: it’s tallest, curliest, silliest, and so forth. The humor aims to appeal to a broad spectrum. It is slightly disturbing that one being eaten by purple bugs is proud of being the crunchiest, but that will certainly appeal to a slice of the audience. The eighth blade of grass is grappling with a philosophical identity crisis; its name is Walt, a sly reference to Whitman's Leaves of Grass that will go right over the heads of beginning readers but may amuse astute parents or teachers. Tension builds with the approach of a lawn mower; the blades of grass lose their unique features when they are trimmed to equal heights. Mercifully, they are chopped off right above the eyes and can continue their silly banter. Departing from the image of a Whitman-esque free spirit, Walt now discovers he is the neatest. Lots of speech bubbles, repetition, and clear layout make this entry a useful addition to lessons on adjectives and superlatives while delivering a not-so-subtle message that everyone is good at something. Elephant and Piggie's final assertion that “this book is the FUNNIEST” doesn't necessarily make it so, however.

Amusing, yes. Useful for reading practice, yes, but not necessarily guaranteed to make new readers the “read-i-est.” (Early reader. 6-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4847-2635-8

Page Count: 64

Publisher: Hyperion

Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016

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ROT, THE BRAVEST IN THE WORLD!

Cute and brave—gee, Rot’s spud-tacular!

A “scaredy-spud” puts on his brave face.

All “mutant potatoes” love mud. Mud is good for playing games, eating, and even sleeping. But few taters have more tender feelings toward muck than Rot. À la Pete the Cat, Rot celebrates mud in song: “Mud between my toes! / Mud in my nose! / Mud is GREAT / wherever it GOES!” When Rot’s big brother, Snot, tells Rot about the Squirm that lives “deep down in the mushy muck,” his love quickly turns to fear. But he doesn’t give up! Instead, Rot imagines himself in various disguises to work up courage. There’s “Super Spud” (a superhero), “Sir Super Rot, the Brave and Bold” (a superhero-knight), and even “Sir Super Rot the Pigtato” (a, um, superhero-knight-pig-potato). The disguises are one thing, but, deep down, is Rot really brave enough to face the Squirm? Readers wooed by Rot’s charm in Rot: The Cutest in the World (2017) will laugh out loud at this well-paced encore—and it’s not just because of the butt cracks. Clanton creates a winning dynamic, balancing Rot’s earnestness, witty dialogue, and an omniscient, slightly melodramatic narrator. The cartoon illustrations were created using watercolors, colored pencils, digital collage, and—brilliantly—potato stamps. Clanton’s reliance on earth tones makes for some clever, surprising page turns when the palette is broken.

Cute and brave—gee, Rot’s spud-tacular! (Picture book. 6-8)

Pub Date: June 16, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-4814-6764-3

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020

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