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A PLACE CALLED KINDERGARTEN

Name: A PLACE CALLED KINDERGARTEN
Author: Jessica Harper
ISBN: 0-399-24226-0

by Jessica Harper & illustrated by G. Brian Karas ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2006

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A perennial topic gets a new perspective in Harper’s latest. The animals in the barn are all aflutter when Tommy fails to come for his morning visit. When the Dog tells them Tommy has gone to a place called Kindergarten, their worried questions reflect the fears of all those left behind at the start of school. “Where is Kindergarten? What does it look like? What will happen to Tommy there? Will he ever come back?” Their actions that day will also be familiar to younger siblings—and anxious Moms—watching out the window, pacing and listening for that special footstep. Reassurance comes that afternoon with Tommy’s visit. As he teaches them what he has learned, the animals see that Kindergarten is a great place—for them, too. There is a country feel to the muted tones of Karas’s illustrations. The animals’ facial expressions and body language will evoke empathy in listeners, while their translated questions will produce laughter. A must for those awaiting the return of their own kindergartener. (Picture book. 3-8)

Pub Date: July 1, 2006

ISBN: 0-399-24226-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2006

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
I BARFED ON MRS. KENLY
by Jessica Harper and illustrated by Jon Berkeley

- BOOK REVIEW
UH-OH, CLEO
by Jessica Harper and illustrated by Jon Berkeley

- BOOK REVIEW
UH-OH, CLEO
by Jessica Harper & illustrated by Jon Berkeley

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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TURKEY TROUBLE

From the Turkey Trouble series

by Wendi Silvano and illustrated by Lee Harper ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2009

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Turkey’s in the “kind of trouble where it’s almost Thanksgiving...and you’re the main course.” Accordingly, Turkey tries on disguise after disguise, from horse to cow to pig to sheep, at each iteration being told that he looks nothing like the animal he’s trying to mimic (which is quite true, as Harper’s quirky watercolors make crystal clear). He desperately squeezes a red rubber glove onto his head to pass as a rooster, only to overhear the farmer suggest a poultry plan B when he’s unable to turn up the turkey. Turkey’s horrified expression as he stands among the peppers and tomatoes—in November? Chalk it up to artistic license—is priceless, but his surroundings give him an idea. Good fun, but it may lead to a vegetarian table or two. (Picture book. 4-8)