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OUR CLASSROOM RULES!

Name: OUR CLASSROOM RULES!
Author: Kallie George
ISBN: 9780593378786

by Kallie George ; illustrated by Jay Fleck ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 13, 2023

A sweet addition to the back-to-school shelf.

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A peek into a classroom that may ease some little ones’ first-day jitters.

This isn’t just any ordinary classroom; this one has anthropomorphic animal students, a fox teacher, and two worms for comic relief. Bear, Duck, Turtle, Rabbit, Porcupine, and Hedgehog make sure to follow the school rules: “be on time…and ready to learn,” listen, work individually and together, play, clean up, line up, be polite, “look out for each other,” “give new things a chance,” “share ideas,” express yourself, and take pride in your work. Readers follow along as the students go through a typical school day full of familiar or expected activities and sights: sitting at tables, raising hands, recess, classroom shelves of books and toys, lunch, the ever popular parachute in gym, sharing time, art. Along the way, the two worms will likely crack children up with their antics: They form the number 11 at the top of the hopscotch board and play their own version of parachute with a leaf; during sharing time, one flies across the room in a paper airplane. Fleck’s pencil-and-digital illustrations bring to life the care the students feel for and show one another, and George has a couple sentences that really hit at the heart of the matter: “Mistakes are part of learning,” and “we try to be our best. Not the best. Our best.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A sweet addition to the back-to-school shelf. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: June 13, 2023

ISBN: 9780593378786

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Rodale Kids

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
SAND CAKES
by Kallie George ; illustrated by Devon Holzwarth

- BOOK REVIEW
I HEAR YOU, MOUNTAINS
by Kallie George ; illustrated by Carmen Mok

- BOOK REVIEW
DOT THE LADYBUG
by Kallie George ; illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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THE COOL BEAN MAKES A SPLASH

From the I Can Read! series

by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2024

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.

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The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.

Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)