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LITTLE BIRD'S BAD WORD

Name: LITTLE BIRD'S BAD WORD
Author: Jacob Grant
ISBN: 978-1-250-05149-3

by Jacob Grant ; illustrated by Jacob Grant ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2015

A charming, tender, and ever pertinent life lesson.

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Little Bird loves to learn new words, especially when they are “big bird” words.

When his papa drops a juicy worm with a loud “Blark,” Little Bird is thrilled to try out the new word. Papa tells him that the word is not suitable for little birds, but of course, this makes Little Bird want to show it off to all his friends. Their reactions are not what he expected. Frog is startled, Moose is rendered speechless, Fish and Ladybug are very unhappy, and poor, shocked Turtle just retreats deep in his shell. Little Bird realizes that something about that word is just plain wrong. Papa helps him make amends, and he knows the right word for that. In an amusing touch, it’s the newly recaptured worm that uses the word next—and last. Grant employs a gentle touch with what could have been a heavy-handed morality tale, carefully avoiding a descent into didacticism or saccharine sentiment. Little Bird is innocent and well-meaning, and his Papa is nonjudgmental and patient. Although upset at first, his friends accept his apology, knowing that he never meant to hurt them. The text stands out in bold print in large white spaces. Little readers receive strong visual clues to augment the text via bright, large-scale charcoal and digitally colored illustrations depicting the characters’ emotional responses to the events.

A charming, tender, and ever pertinent life lesson. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: July 21, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-250-05149-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Review Posted Online: March 10, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
UMAMI
by Jacob Grant ; illustrated by Jacob Grant

- BOOK REVIEW
NO FAIR!
by Jacob Grant ; illustrated by Jacob Grant

- BOOK REVIEW
NO PANTS!
by Jacob Grant ; illustrated by Jacob Grant

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2025

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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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)