Warm and delightful, this tale will stay with readers long after they turn the last page.
Besties Worm and Caterpillar share lessons on friendship in this graphic novel for early readers.
While pink and purple Worm tends to notice what the two pals have in common, green and orange Caterpillar is fast to point out that they’re not the same. They may both be afraid of birds, but Caterpillar loves leaves while Worm eats dirt. Worm crawls on their belly, but Caterpillar has legs (16 of them!). Keen readers will understand quickly why Caterpillar is concerned—Worm says they’re best friends “because we are the same!” and Caterpillar knows that things are bound to change. In fact, as Caterpillar spins their chrysalis, Worm is already worrying about their altered buddy. And by the time Caterpillar is ready to emerge, they fret that Worm may no longer like them. When Caterpillar (now Butterfly) pops out, Worm is initially afraid, but with care and trust, Worm is able to accept and love Butterfly for who they’ve always been. Worm learns along with readers that love is not a surface-level emotion and that true connections bind us deeply to each other. The art is joyful, colorful, and expressive, with emotions reading perfectly on the cartoon insects' faces. Overall, it’s an appealing read with a message of acceptance that caregivers will be able to easily apply to real life.
Warm and delightful, this tale will stay with readers long after they turn the last page. (Graphic early reader. 4-8)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66592-001-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Simon Spotlight
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2022
Fast and furious action guaranteed to keep new readers laughing and turning pages.
Never underestimate the chaotic fun that magic and an angry bouncing ball can create.
When Frog goes to the library, he borrows a book on magic. He then heads to a nearby park to read up on the skills necessary to becoming “a great magician.” Suddenly, a deflated yellow ball lands with a “Thud!” at his feet. Although he flexes his new magician muscles, Frog’s spells fall as flat as the ball. But when Frog shouts “Phooey!” and kicks the ball away, it inflates to become a big, angry ball. The ball begins to chase Frog, so he seeks shelter in the library—and Frog and ball turn the library’s usual calm into chaos. The cartoon chase crescendos. The ball bounces into the middle of a game of chess, interrupts a puppet show, and crashes into walls and bookcases. Staying just one bounce ahead, Frog runs, hides, grabs a ride on a book cart, and scatters books and papers as he slides across the library furniture before an alligator patron catches the ball and kicks it out the library door. But that’s not the end of the ball….Caple’s tidy panels and pastel-hued cartoons make a surprisingly effective setting for the slapstick, which should have young readers giggling. Simple sentences—often just subject and verb—with lots of repetition propel the action. Frog’s nonsense-word spells (“Poof Wiffle, Bop Bip!”) are both funny and excellent practice in phonetics. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Fast and furious action guaranteed to keep new readers laughing and turning pages. (Graphic early reader. 5-7)Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4341-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
A visual and emotional symphony.
A tiger, with some unusual help, fights off a nightmare.
Tiger’s parents don’t quite believe that the reason she carries extra curry or tacos from the supper table to her bedroom is because she has a monster under her bed, but it’s true. Monster was supposed to scare her long ago, but instead they play together nightly. Then, while Tiger sleeps, Monster scares away Tiger’s horned, multieyed, centipedelike nightmares—until a nightmare with a long-jawed white skull and a changeable, smoky body arrives. It conquers Monster and reaches Tiger. From now on, Tiger and Monster must work together. The plans they implement are brilliant and brave, and their hard-won victory (it takes a few tries) couldn’t be more triumphant, relieving, or empowering. Compositions range from full-bleed spreads to pages holding multiple sequential panels. Using watercolors and pencils, Tetri creates one color-world of inky blues (Monster; nighttime) and another of oranges and yellows (Tiger; daytime). The meanings of each color-world hold nuance and complexity: The nightmares are of the blue world, but so are coziness and small, dear Monster; Tiger’s victory explodes with warm colors like dawn, but she could only achieve it at night. Rich details enhance the setting inconspicuously: Tiger’s parents, also tigers, run a repair shop for flying cars; one parent is Dad while the other is of undesignated gender.
A visual and emotional symphony. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62672-535-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2018
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