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SHAWN AND KEEPER SHOW-AND-TELL

Name: SHAWN AND KEEPER SHOW-AND-TELL
Author: Jonathan London
ISBN: 0-525-46114-0

by Jonathan London & illustrated by Renee Williams-Andriani ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2000

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A lively easy reader in which the author takes a page from Letterman’s stupid pet tricks and the illustrator captures the hilarity. Shawn has four whole days before show-and-tell to teach a few tricks to Keeper, his red retriever-like shaggy dog. Why not give it a try? After all, the two are the best of friends, the kind of friends who “walked together and talked together” and “growled together and howled together.” Training ensues, with Shawn growing from hesitant to well nigh dictatorial and Keeper's confusion melting into a satisfied grin in Williams-Andriani’s squiggly inset illustrations. Shawn always says, “Good boy!” and gives Keeper cookies. Then comes Friday, pet-trick presentation day. After “Leah sang to her mouse” (not exactly a pet trick), and some other performances, it’s Shawn and Keeper’s turn, and the dog blows it, forgetting everything except “Fetch!” His happy chase after the spotted ball decimates the classroom in a series of vignettes that culminate in full-scale disaster. The background damage is depicted in gentle pastels, enabling the reader’s attention to remain on Shawn and Keeper. Careful observation reveals, however, that the fish in the upset tank are horrified, as is the mouse. It’s obvious Shawn must change his training tactics, and he does. “ ‘Bad boy!’ ” he says. “ ‘But I still love you.’ And he gave Keeper a cookie.” After all, “they were the best of friends.” (Fiction. 4-7)

Pub Date: July 1, 2000

ISBN: 0-525-46114-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2000

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
HERE COMES SHOPKEEPER HIPPO
by Jonathan London ; illustrated by Gilles Eduar

- BOOK REVIEW
HERE COMES TRUCK DRIVER HIPPO
by Jonathan London ; illustrated by Gilles Eduar

- BOOK REVIEW
FROGGY FOR PRESIDENT!
by Jonathan London ; illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz

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WHERE ARE YOUR SHOES, MR. BROWN?

by Justin Rhodes ; illustrated by Heather Dickinson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2023

Pedestrian.

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Mr. Brown can’t help with farm chores because his shoes are missing—a common occurrence in his household and likely in many readers’ as well.

Children will be delighted that the titular Mr. Brown is in fact a child. After Mr. Brown looks in his closet and sorts through his other family members’ shoes with no luck, his father and his siblings help him search the farm. Eventually—after colorful pages that enable readers to spot footwear hiding—the family gives up on their hunt, and Mr. Brown asks to be carried around for the chores. He rides on his father’s shoulders as Papa gets his work done, as seen on a double-page spread of vignettes. The resolution is more of a lesson for the adult readers than for children, a saccharine moment where father and son express their joy that the missing shoes gave them the opportunity for togetherness—with advice for other parents to appreciate those fleeting moments themselves. Though the art is bright and cheerful, taking advantage of the setting, it occasionally is misaligned with the text (for example, the text states that Mr. Brown is wearing his favorite green shirt while the illustration is of a shirt with wide stripes of white and teal blue, which could confuse readers at the point where they’re trying to figure out which family member is Mr. Brown). The family is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Pedestrian. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 14, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-5460-0389-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals

Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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BUNNY MONEY

From the Max & Ruby series

by Rosemary Wells & illustrated by Rosemary Wells ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1997

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In the siblings' latest adventure, their grandmother is having a birthday (again! see Bunny Cakes, p. 67), so Ruby takes Max shopping. A music box with skating ballerinas is Ruby's idea of the perfect present; Max favors a set of plastic vampire teeth. Ruby's $15 goes fast, and somehow, most of it is spent on Max. The music box of Ruby's dreams costs $100, so she settles for musical earrings instead. There isn't even a dollar left for the bus, so Max digs out his lucky quarter and phones Grandma, who drives them home—happily wearing her new earrings and vampire teeth. As ever, Wells's sympathies are with the underdog: Max, in one-word sentences, out-maneuvers his officious sister once again. Most six- year-olds will be able to do the mental subtraction necessary to keep track of Ruby's money, and Wells helps by illustrating the wallet and its dwindling contents at the bottom of each page where a transaction occurs. Younger children may need to follow the author's suggestion and have an adult photocopy the ``bunny money'' on the endpapers, so they can count it out. Either way, the book is a great adjunct to primary-grade math lessons. (Picture book. 4-7)