WALTER THE WHALE SHARK AND HIS TEENY TINY TEETH

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WALTER THE WHALE SHARK AND HIS TEENY TINY TEETH

Name: WALTER THE WHALE SHARK AND HIS TEENY TINY TEETH
Author: Katrine Crow
ISBN: 978-1-4867-1809-2

by Katrine Crow ; illustrated by Hazel Quintanilla ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 7, 2020

A timely celebration of individual difference.

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Walter feels out of place among the other sharks at school.

Walter’s been looking forward to school all summer, but a class photo has him in a panic: Everyone’s teeth are huge. How can Walter, with his “teeny tiny teeth,” make friends with the likes of Manny Mako and Greta Great White? The whale shark spends the morning worrying, but an idea strikes him at lunchtime. He scoops up some matching seashells to enhance his smile, but after one bite of his sandwich, they all come tumbling out. “Oh Mackerel!” His seaweed teeth are similarly unsuccessful, and his shrimp teeth flee (“SWIM for it!”) as soon as Walter opens his mouth to read aloud. Dejected, Walter heads home, where his mother waits with some reassurance: Walter doesn’t need teeth like the other sharks’ because whale sharks eat different food. (This important scientific fact is only hinted at in the plankton-and–chocolate chip cookies she serves Walter as an after-school snack.) “Having teeny tiny teeth doesn’t mean you don’t fit in. It’s what makes you special.” Quintanilla’s illustrations play up the other sharks’ big, pointy teeth (one precocious “sharky-gartener” even sports braces) and Walter’s roller coaster of excitement and disappointment/embarrassment. The other sharks laugh, seemingly at Walter’s expense. The variably weighted, sans-serif typeface may make it hard for new readers to parse some letters.

A timely celebration of individual difference. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: July 7, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-4867-1809-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Flowerpot Press

Review Posted Online: May 16, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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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

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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)