A tastefully funny but instructive picture book perfect for early elementary schoolers.
An elementary-school aged child learns there is a time and place for perfection in Vee’s picture book.
Petey is practically perfect in every way. His etiquette is immaculate, his cleanliness is next to godliness, and he always follows the rules. The only problem is that Petey doesn’t know how to make friends. So, he decides to craft one out of a sock and random decorative items. Unfortunately, it’s a failed endeavor: “His new pal didn’t look perfect at all. It just looked silly!” Petey puts the sock away for the night, but when he wakes up in the morning, it’s stuck on his hand. Problems arise immediately: the puppet makes him late to school, interrupts his class, lets out a huge burp during lunch, and even tanks Petey’s spelling test. When he’s finally sent out for disciplinary action, the principal suggests that the chaotic pair enter the school talent show. Following Vee’s Professor Nincompoop (2024), this story is silly on the surface but carries a serious message. The story never shames Petey for striving for excellence nor plays him for a victim. Wilkinson’s colorful art—there’s a full-page spread of Petey trying to flush the puppet down the toilet—often varies its perspective and framing, including legible, larger-than-life sound effects that reflect the sock puppet’s unpredictable behavior.
A tastefully funny but instructive picture book perfect for early elementary schoolers.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity.
A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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