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THE MOOSIC MAKERS

Name: THE MOOSIC MAKERS
Author: Heather Pindar
ISBN: 978-1-84886-649-2

by Heather Pindar ; illustrated by Susan Batori ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2020

Punny but incoherent.

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Animal musicians learn to play together.

Farmer Joni loves to sit on the porch of her farmhouse, listening to the cows make music in the barn. Celery’s voice is “round and mellow like an old apple barrel.” Nutmeg provides accompaniment on the mandolin. Most of the other animals enjoy it, but donkey Billy and sheep Esme grouse a bit about being excluded from the music-making. When a storm destroys the roof of the barn, the animals decide to help fund the repairs. Nutmeg and Celery busk and busk, with Esme and Billy assisting with collection. Who should arrive but slick promoter George Smarm, in a striped purple suit? He promises fame and fortune if they just change from “MOO-grass” to “DisCOW” music. The DisCOW duo is a big hit, arriving by “liMOOsine” to play “megadromes.” But they never see a paycheck and, feeling homesick, hitchhike back to the farm. Joni still lacks the money to fix the roof, so Nutmeg and Celery propose a fundraiser, which Billy insists on turning into a “MOO-BAA-HEHAW-sic Festival!” Pindar’s lesson of inclusion is well taken, and her puns should tickle readers. The diversion into Celery and Nutmeg’s exploitation at the hands of the greedy promoter, however, seems to serve mostly to pad pages and add more opportunities for puns. It has no bearing on the story’s overall theme, which is rushed in its conclusion. Joni and Smarm are both White.

Punny but incoherent. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-84886-649-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Maverick Publishing

Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

- BOOK REVIEW
FROGGY DAY
by Heather Pindar ; illustrated by Barbara Bakos

- BOOK REVIEW
BEWARE THE MIGHTY BITEY
by Heather Pindar ; illustrated by Susan Batori

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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...

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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

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)