Ideal for the newest of new readers, this tender title’s usefulness may be limited to a very narrow developmental window,...
McPhail’s newest in the I Like to Read series hinges on pivot grammar.
Pivot grammar—with one word substituted in a repeated sentence—is perfect for the very youngest beginning readers. Frontmatter depicts a chubby, white preschooler toting a turtle around before the story begins. Then just 10 statements, all starting, “I hug my…” tell a complete bedtime story. Illustrations showing the targets of the grinning hugger’s affection make each new word absolutely clear. Winsome and astonishingly patient animals calmly endure the child’s enthusiastic attention. Most of the illustrations feature just the child and the creature, person, or object that’s being hugged floating in framed white space. Midway through the book, after the pattern is established, two double-page spreads with more background and details invite new readers to linger and add their own observations. “I hug my rock” features a beach scene. On a tree-hugging spread, a pigtailed brown-skinned child peeking around the fence hints at what comes next: “I hug my friend.” Sometime between hugging dad and hugging mom, the child changes into pajamas, then hugs teddy bear and pillow before falling happily asleep. Or maybe not. A final page with just the words, “I hug” shows the pajama-clad child hugging teddy while gazing at the moon.
Ideal for the newest of new readers, this tender title’s usefulness may be limited to a very narrow developmental window, but it’ll do yeoman work within it . (Early reader. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3854-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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