This prolific author/illustrator of some of the most beloved characters in picture books comments, through a pig-tailed young girl, about things children could be scared of. Besides the usual—spiders and crawly things, mean looking dogs and thunderstorms—she includes standing up in front of “a whole bunch of people” and “people who look different from you.” The illustration for this last scary thing is of people who are different ages and of different races. Then, there are scary stories in the news and the headlines in a newspaper say “Toy Stores Go Out of Business” and “No One Getting Along.” Her first solution to these scary things is to hide under the covers and never come out. But that would be boring, so each scary thing is rationalized—maybe the dog only looks mean, you’ll miss the rainbow, and you’ll miss your mother telling you everything is going to be all right. “And just think of all the new friends you’ll never meet! So, throw off those covers! There’s a big, beautiful world out there just waiting for you!” The illustrations for these lines depict a campground filled with the people who “are different from you” all having a good time. The last picture is of an American flag at half mast with the sentence: “This book was written on September 12, 2001.” Carlson’s (Smile a Lot!, p. 877, etc.) bouncy, colorful illustrations are simple and strong. The jacket welcomes all readers with the girl shouting out of a window decorated with cheery curtains and a window box of flowers. There are 16 sentences in all and many of the illustrations depict phrases of a sentence. With the country uneasy about terrorism and headlines adding to the tension, this will be a title that can be used for discussion with young children about their fears. (Picture book. 6-9)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-670-03580-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2002
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
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