At once familiar and slightly out of the box, these giving scenes gently suggest that even the smallest acts can inspire and...
Frank and Ladd join forces to present common opportunities for children to help others.
Ranging from quiet, solitary acts such as writing a letter to a soldier stationed abroad to publicly cheering for the class klutz’s first hit at bat, these 14 free-verse poems and Ladd’s richly textured accompanying acrylic-and-pastel spreads show how easy and rewarding extending oneself can be. In fact, the accessibility of Frank’s diction underscores the simplicity of the giving acts described. For example, “Sandwich” tenderly depicts a youngster’s lunchtime encounter with “the new kid / sitting alone / with only the words of a book / to feed her.” The speaker shares “half of my sandwich,” then notices that “though I had / only half for myself, / after I ate it / I somehow felt full.” Likewise, “No Charge” captures the contagious causality of being on the receiving end of a kind act: When a bike-shop attendant provides a quick tune-up for free, the young rider then passes on that courtesy by helping a woman load grocery bags into her car but refusing a tip. Ladd’s evocative illustrations lend a literal depth to the poems, helping young and pre-readers envision themselves in these situations even further.
At once familiar and slightly out of the box, these giving scenes gently suggest that even the smallest acts can inspire and achieve great ends. (Picture book/poetry. 5-10)Pub Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-60060-970-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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This story covers the few days preceding the much-anticipated Midnight Zombie Walk, when Stink and company will take to the...
An all-zombie-all-the-time zombiefest, featuring a bunch of grade-school kids, including protagonist Stink and his happy comrades.
This story covers the few days preceding the much-anticipated Midnight Zombie Walk, when Stink and company will take to the streets in the time-honored stiff-armed, stiff-legged fashion. McDonald signals her intent on page one: “Stink and Webster were playing Attack of the Knitting Needle Zombies when Fred Zombie’s eye fell off and rolled across the floor.” The farce is as broad as the Atlantic, with enough spookiness just below the surface to provide the all-important shivers. Accompanied by Reynolds’ drawings—dozens of scene-setting gems with good, creepy living dead—McDonald shapes chapters around zombie motifs: making zombie costumes, eating zombie fare at school, reading zombie books each other to reach the one-million-minutes-of-reading challenge. When the zombie walk happens, it delivers solid zombie awfulness. McDonald’s feel-good tone is deeply encouraging for readers to get up and do this for themselves because it looks like so much darned fun, while the sub-message—that reading grows “strong hearts and minds,” as well as teeth and bones—is enough of a vital interest to the story line to be taken at face value.Pub Date: March 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5692-8
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
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BOOK REVIEW
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