bookshelf

IRA CRUMB MAKES A PRETTY GOOD FRIEND

Name: IRA CRUMB MAKES A PRETTY GOOD FRIEND
Author: Naseem Hrab
ISBN: 978-1-77147-171-8

by Naseem Hrab ; illustrated by Josh Holinaty ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 15, 2017

A valuable lesson in friendship, with walking pickles on the side

bookshelf

Ira Crumb is “trustworthy, super helpful, and also really fun to be around”—but, having just moved, he is also “The New Kid.”

All Ira’s considerable confidence is put to the test by the prospect of having no friends on the first day of school. He decides to take pre-emptive action and “make friends BEFORE the first day of school.” Campaign signs and a lemonade stand attract attention, but learning that he’s serving pickles with his cheese sandwiches turns off potential friends. (The pickle’s frowny face echoes Ira’s dismay as the kids walk away.) A dance-off also fails to win him a friend, as does displaying huge quantities of cool. Readers will notice that one kid, a light-blue rabbit, seems interested in meeting Ira; his friendly overture goes for naught when Ira thinks his sandwich is talking to him instead. But on the first day of school, the rabbit, whose name is Malcolm, clears up the confusion, and a friendship is born. Hrab’s debut comes packed with wry whimsy that’s ably matched by Holinaty’s visuals. His characters are notably diverse, including talking animals such as Malcolm and animate foodstuffs as well as humans; Ira himself is a brown-skinned boy with a poof of black hair under his hoodie. The figures’ video-game aesthetic humorously emphasizes Ira’s competitive approach to friendship.

A valuable lesson in friendship, with walking pickles on the side . (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-77147-171-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Owlkids Books

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW TO STAYCATION LIKE A SNAIL
by Naseem Hrab ; illustrated by Kelly Collier

- BOOK REVIEW
OTIS & PEANUT FOREVER AND EVER
by Naseem Hrab ; illustrated by Kelly Collier

- BOOK REVIEW
OTIS & PEANUT
by Naseem Hrab ; illustrated by Kelly Collier

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)

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

bookshelf

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.

bookshelf

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)