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SUMMER CAMP CRITTER JITTERS

Name: SUMMER CAMP CRITTER JITTERS
Author: Jory John
ISBN: 978-0-593-11098-0

by Jory John ; illustrated by Liz Climo ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2021

Sure to ease the worries of human campers before their own forays.

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Various animals reveal their worries to readers as they pack for summer camp.

Skunk doesn’t like scary stories, and feeling afraid sometimes leads to stinky incidents. Duck never learned to swim. Mole is worried about sports due to poor eyesight (archery, anyone?). And Mouse fears sleeping on the top bunk. Sloth, Rabbit, Snake, Bear, Kangaroo, and Parrot share worries of their own as they each pack their belongings in a suitcase (readers will chuckle at the small, carefully chosen details in these scenes). Once they all arrive at camp, though, they discover a larger problem than their own specific fears: Their new counselor, Cat, is stuck up a tree. By cooperating and each doing jobs that are well suited to them, they can get Cat out of the tree and thereby become a team that can work on their individual fears. For example, under an alligator counselor’s close eye, Duck works on floating, Snake acting as a ring buoy around Duck’s waist. Climo’s cartoon illustrations use format conventions to marvelous effect, imaginary scenes encased in cloudlike bubbles to separate them from reality. The characters are simply drawn with minimal details, but this serves to highlight their expressive faces. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.5-by-19-inch double-page spreads viewed at 23.1% of actual size.)

Sure to ease the worries of human campers before their own forays. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: June 1, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-11098-0

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

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THE COOL BEAN MAKES A SPLASH
by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald

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YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE THIS BOOK!
by Jory John ; illustrated by Olivier Tallec

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THE BIG CHEESE
by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald

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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

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

- BOOK REVIEW
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)