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MAGGI AND MILO MAKE NEW FRIENDS

Name: MAGGI AND MILO MAKE NEW FRIENDS
Author: Juli Brenning
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3776-1

by Juli Brenning ; illustrated by Priscilla Burris ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2016

Perhaps next time Maggi and Milo will learn about the golden rule

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In their second outing, Maggi and her huge dog, Milo, visit a park where they make three new friends.

Maggi, a white girl with glasses and cowgirl boots, is taken to the park by her mother, who wants her daughter to make some friends other than her dog. The small park doesn’t allow dogs inside, so the mom sits outside on a bench next to Milo. Maggi meets a Latino boy named Antonio Carlos Enrique III (Ace for short), a redheaded white girl in a tutu named Sarah, and a black girl named Sydney, who (inexplicably) calls herself Amelia Earhart. They play together for a while and then decide to walk the dog. Maggi requests seven items (ranging from dandelions to sparkly rocks to acorns) to be collected from around the park as payment for dog-walking privileges. The children take turns walking Milo (outside the park gate), and the group then uses the collected natural items in further play, with two of the friends kindly teaching Maggi how to make something new. The morally questionable notion of charging newly acquired friends for the privilege of walking the dog is never addressed. While the plot is rather ho-hum, the story is told in an energetic, clever tone, and the digitally produced illustrations have a fluid appeal, with scratchy ink outlines and a loose, breezy style that lends immediacy to the overall effort. The cast of cute kids illustrated with large heads and skinny appendages is clearly positioned for more entries in the series.

Perhaps next time Maggi and Milo will learn about the golden rule . (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: July 12, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-8037-3776-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
MAGGI AND MILO
by Juli Brenning ; illustrated by Priscilla Burris

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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)