Break out the mead and pop a horned helmet on your head for the funniest pest invasion this side of Tromsø.
A typical case of untidiness is taken to a magnificent extreme.
When a boy’s mother warns him that not cleaning up after himself could lead to an infestation of pests, he pooh-poohs her concerns. But then they find a barbarian in the kitchen. After it’s removed, a second one, “who’d come seeking glory. And cheese curls,” is shooed out of the playroom, but by then it’s too late. Barbarians are everywhere, reveling in the messiness they encounter. The family tries traps, a “scare-barian,” exterminators—nothing seems to slow the invaders’ love of spilled chips. Young readers may independently come to the protagonist’s realization that the only way to rid one’s home of barbarians is to do the unthinkable: clean up. A cute ending shows that after the barbarian scourge is eradicated, failure to attend to proper bathtime niceties brings on a new dilemma: pirates! Eaton milks maximum fun and humor out of his illogically logical situation with lovely details such as the barbarians’ tendency to put the protagonist's school supplies and action figures to deliciously gross use. This book may make the prospect of a barbarian invasion seem at least initially appealing, but adults will appreciate the message at its heart. Fearing’s cheeky style perfectly accompanies these grungy, Viking-helmeted, oddly endearing warriors; they seem all to be white underneath the grime, while all the family members have brown hair and light skin.
Break out the mead and pop a horned helmet on your head for the funniest pest invasion this side of Tromsø. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6827-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
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
Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.
Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.
There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”
Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781400247417
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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