C.R. MUDGEON

Name: C.R. MUDGEON
Author: Leslie Muir
ISBN: 978-1-4169-7906-7

by Leslie Muir & illustrated by Julian Hector ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 6, 2012

This paean to the value of moderation, conveyed via a friendship story that will resonate with children, is just right for...

bookshelf

Young readers may not know beforehand what a "curmudgeon" is, but so many kids are creatures of habit they'll sympathize with this hidebound hedgehog.

Charcoal-and-watercolor illustrations are softly colored in moss green, tree-bark brown, yellow ocher, pale blue and dusty rose, appropriate to the woodsy setting. C.R. himself is appealing; cute in spite of himself, with his pointy spines sticking up like recalcitrant hair, emphasizing his prickly nature. Reminiscent of Ereth the porcupine from Avi's Poppy stories, C.R. is outwardly grumpy and suspicious of anything new. When Paprika the squirrel moves in nearby, she plants bright poppies, enthusiastically greets him—immediately assuming they're friends—and cooks spicy food, the smell of which makes C.R. sneeze. It's not until the tables are turned, and Paprika is subdued by a case of the "whooping whiffles," that C. R. breaks out of his rut to care for her, realizing that, in fact, he has made a friend. As he learns to share his tastes with her, he even spices things up a little: adding salt to his celery soup, lemon to his dandelion tea.

This paean to the value of moderation, conveyed via a friendship story that will resonate with children, is just right for any kid who's wary of new things, and maybe a bit shy. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 6, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-4169-7906-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

bookshelf

LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2025

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.

bookshelf

In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.

Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 25, 2025

ISBN: 9780063387843

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

bookshelf

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...

bookshelf

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)