bookshelf

HECTOR THE COLLECTOR

Name: HECTOR THE COLLECTOR
Author: Emily Beeny
ISBN: 978-1-62672-296-5

by Emily Beeny ; illustrated by Stephanie Graegin ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 4, 2017

A sweet and child-sensitive addition to any picture-book collection.

bookshelf

Hector and his classmates learn about collecting.

Hector admires the acorns he collects over the course of the fall, so much so that he stores his treasures in his desk. He’s momentarily embarrassed when his teacher discovers them and his classmates laugh, but his clever teacher turns this into an opportunity, letting him show and tell, asking classmates about their own collections, and making connections to libraries and museums. Graegin’s sketched and shaded drawings, digitally manipulated, colored, and combined, work well in support of this friendly fable. Mammals of all sorts populate Hector’s world. The protagonist looks something like a grizzly bear cub; his teacher is a giraffe, and his classmates are of many different species. All wear clothes but no shoes; careful readers may identify them by their feet. Hector’s collection, pictured on the front endpapers as well as in the text, is nicely varied. As he admires each one, textual similes are supported by the art: he carries a green apple along with the pair that are apple green; he finds another, “golden and smooth like polished stone,” in a pot with stones. There are vignettes, full-page images, and spreads in pleasing variety. The final endpapers include other collectibles. The author’s note ends with her point: “Every collection is different. Every collection is the same. Just like all of us.”

A sweet and child-sensitive addition to any picture-book collection. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: July 4, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-62672-296-5

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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)