An entertaining soak with a few suds of empathy.
Cleaning is fun for a sponge—until it isn’t.
Dirty dishes inspire an anthropomorphic green-and-yellow scrub sponge to get to work. After flexing and polishing herself, the little sponge declares herself “lean, mean, and ready to clean!” As various kitchen objects also come to life, the sponge realizes she has her work cut out for her. Carton sloshes milk on the counter. Knife leaves behind scraps. Toaster even chokes on crumbs. But after helping extra-messy Garbage Disposal and Blender, the little sponge loses her composure—and her shine—with a frustrated “EURGHHHH!” Mess continues to manifest, but the sponge (“sopping wet and bloated and the color of muck”) is too dirty to continue cleaning. Just as she starts to sob and an existential crisis begins, help arrives in the form of the Rubber Glove Twins, who wring her out with a “biiiiiiiiiig squeeze.” As the sponge gets the “full spa package” from even more friends, she learns how to ask for help next time. Harris’ debut is a humorous foray into cleaning routines with a valuable message about avoiding burnout. Hawkins’ colorful digital cartoon illustrations make even the sharpest objects feel friendly. Careful details, such as the calendar changing or new dishes being added to the sink, aid with continuity.
An entertaining soak with a few suds of empathy. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: July 9, 2024
ISBN: 9780063255586
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
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)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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