While the small details preclude group sharing, this is just right for sharing with one or two soon-to-be-schoolers or for...
Readers will actively explore an elementary school environment in this latest in Ljungkvist’s successful string of books.
Beginning on the front cover and ending on the back, an uninterrupted black line leads readers through the front doors of a school, into and around a classroom, to the library, art and music rooms, cafeteria and playground and, finally, back out the door at the end of the day. Along the way, three questions on each spread prompt children to really think about what they may see, do and learn at school and give them a chance to show off what they already know. On the cafeteria page they are asked to name all the fruits they see, while the music-room spread challenges them to sort instruments according to how they make their sounds. Opportunities abound to identify numbers, shapes, letters, animals and colors within the artwork—a busy collaged mix of photos, cut paper, found objects and drawings. The titular line snakes and weaves through it all, cleverly forming words, numbers, furniture, animals, playground equipment and objects. Even without the seek-and-find and line-following games, there is plenty here to keep readers’ attention—and to allay at least a few concerns about what school will be like.
While the small details preclude group sharing, this is just right for sharing with one or two soon-to-be-schoolers or for independent browsing of the stylish illustrations. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-670-01226-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Pedestrian.
Mr. Brown can’t help with farm chores because his shoes are missing—a common occurrence in his household and likely in many readers’ as well.
Children will be delighted that the titular Mr. Brown is in fact a child. After Mr. Brown looks in his closet and sorts through his other family members’ shoes with no luck, his father and his siblings help him search the farm. Eventually—after colorful pages that enable readers to spot footwear hiding—the family gives up on their hunt, and Mr. Brown asks to be carried around for the chores. He rides on his father’s shoulders as Papa gets his work done, as seen on a double-page spread of vignettes. The resolution is more of a lesson for the adult readers than for children, a saccharine moment where father and son express their joy that the missing shoes gave them the opportunity for togetherness—with advice for other parents to appreciate those fleeting moments themselves. Though the art is bright and cheerful, taking advantage of the setting, it occasionally is misaligned with the text (for example, the text states that Mr. Brown is wearing his favorite green shirt while the illustration is of a shirt with wide stripes of white and teal blue, which could confuse readers at the point where they’re trying to figure out which family member is Mr. Brown). The family is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Pedestrian. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5460-0389-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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