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BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

Name: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
Author: Marc Brown
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5456-6

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM ARTHUR

by Marc Brown ; illustrated by Marc Brown ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 25, 2022

A sweet ode to a ’90s favorite.

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The iconic aardvark gets a celebratory tome.

Arthur, Francine, Buster, D.W., and the rest of Elwood City celebrate 25 years of working, learning, and playing together in this rose-colored glimpse back at the Arthur series and eponymous television show. Life lessons, quotes, and warmly rendered illustrations pepper five sections ranging from “Believe in Yourself” to “Believe in Opening Your Eyes, Ears, and Heart” and “Believe in a Wonderful Kind of Day.” Less a treasury and more of a keepsake, this volume will mean the world to those who grew up watching the PBS program and reading the accompanying picture books and will mean very little to everyone else. The layout provides popular quotes from the books and show as well as new pieces of artwork that will delight die-hard fans. The material is thin but always encouraging, making for a poor reference text but an excellent eighth grade graduation present. Marc Brown’s creation has earned the love and respect of generations, and most readers will find something amusing in here, e.g., a D.W. witticism or hilarious joke from Buster that will remind them of weekday afternoons spent watching Arthur after finishing homework. The book never exploits this connection, instead seeking to pointedly remind readers of the lessons Arthur and his pals (including Pal the dog!) taught them and each other. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A sweet ode to a ’90s favorite. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-7595-5456-6

Page Count: 128

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
WHY DID THE MONSTER CROSS THE ROAD?
by R.L. Stine ; illustrated by Marc Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
EVERYONE COUNTS
by Judy Sierra ; illustrated by Marc Brown

- BOOK REVIEW
MONKEY NOT READY FOR BEDTIME
by Marc Brown ; illustrated by Marc Brown

- PROFILES
4 Questions for Marc Brown

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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

- BOOK REVIEW
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)