A clumsy but sweet springboard to discussions about spreading rumors.
A companion to The Whatifs (2020), this time exploring gossip.
Mason is a meddlesome lad, which makes him especially attractive to the buzzy swarms of “Iheards”—insectlike creatures with long proboscises, perfect for fitting in ears and whispering secrets. The Iheards surround Mason, telling him rumors of other classmates. “I heard Ameera is scared / of thunderstorms.” “I heard Valeria broke / Maya’s crayon on purpose!” All of these secrets build up inside of Mason until he can’t take it anymore. They burst forth, whether true or not, and he tells everyone. A special History Day project is assigned, and no one wants to be Mason’s partner. On the day of the presentation, Mason is distraught; the Iheards prey on his weakness, crowding and zipping around, creating literal clouds of insecurities. Luckily, classmate Natalie offers a different perspective—what if the Iheards can be good? A shift appears in both Mason and the art: He beams, and the room brightens. This tale follows the same emotional pathway as Kilgore and Perisco’s previous work but not quite as seamlessly. Framing the Iheards as positive is a bit more clunky and difficult; still, given how relevant the topic is, this one may be a jumping-off point to conversations about gossip. An author’s note further explains that we all deserve to share our own stories and that repeating rumors can be painful. Mason is light-skinned, Natalie is brown-skinned, and their classmates are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A clumsy but sweet springboard to discussions about spreading rumors. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4998-1268-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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
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