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BRINDLEFOX

Name: BRINDLEFOX
Author: John Sandford
ISBN: 9781546003724

by John Sandford ; illustrated by John Sandford ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 22, 2023

Young readers will eagerly befriend these characters.

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How to make a friend?

Hardhearted BrindleFox doesn’t like anyone. The anthropomorphic fox’s house is dirty and overgrown with plants. And one day a tree starts to grow from his back. Branches, leaves, and berries sprout; creatures build homes in it. A heron swings from its branches, and BrindleFox fumes, chasing her away; returning the next day, she gathers brambleberries. Soon, BrindleFox discovers a brambleberry pie on his windowsill and eats it. He asks Heron incredulously why she made a pie for him. Another pie follows—but, more importantly, so does a remarkable change in personality as BrindleFox cleans himself and his house, removes the tree from his back and saws it into planks, and begins to build furniture, a project Heron enthusiastically and skillfully helps with. Heron continues baking, and in the ensuing years, she and BrindleFox consume pastries while sitting on expertly wrought wooden chairs, enjoying long talks and deep friendship. The moral of the story? “To have a friend, one must be a friend.” Children will appreciate this warm fable’s satisfying conclusion. What shines through in the sweet, simple telling is its message about kindness and the idea that cold hearts can thaw through patience and understanding. The oil-paint illustrations are standouts, their lush colors enlivening precise, folkloric details and enhancing settings. BrindleFox and Heron—actual enemies in nature—are expressive, fully realized protagonists. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Young readers will eagerly befriend these characters. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2023

ISBN: 9781546003724

Page Count: 32

Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals

Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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OAK LEAF
by John Sandford ; illustrated by John Sandford

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by Marjorie Maddox & illustrated by John Sandford

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

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FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)