The authors’ names will sell it, but it’s the pictures that sing.
The lyrics of the classic Beatles song accompany an illustrated story in Cole’s (Spot & Dot, 2019) latest creation.
Two children sit near the front of their school bus, on opposite sides of the aisle, looking wistfully out their respective windows, while the crowd of kids in the back of the bus chat and laugh together. As the children exit the school bus, the two hang back from the crowd. At lunch, they notice each other; at recess, the blond, white child plays a guitar while the puffy-haired, darker-hued child watches, smiling. By the next spread, they are singing together in a bedroom and have developed a warm friendship. But soon, the blond child must move away, and each is alone again. They manage their loneliness with letters and phone calls, and, finally, they prepare for what becomes a spectacular visit. Most of the world is drawn in black and white, with touches of color to highlight the main characters and their connection; blue skies dominate the final spreads. Cole’s detailed style effectively creates a busy world in which individuals seek the comfort of friendship. The lyrics only loosely connect to the pictures, and parts of the text may seem obscure to children unfamiliar with the song. Adult readers will likely be happy to share the classic with children, though, and the visual story is strong enough to carry at least a full reading.
The authors’ names will sell it, but it’s the pictures that sing. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Dec. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-2983-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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