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PIRATE JOHN-WOLF

Name: PIRATE JOHN-WOLF
Author: Nathalie Quintart
ISBN: 978-1-60537-330-0

by Nathalie Quintart ; illustrated by Philippe Goossens ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 2017

Lukewarm pirating in a field of hearty buccaneers makes this book cannon fodder, nothing more.

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A pup’s search for bravery takes him—unwillingly—to the high seas.

Stories of pirates are thrilling yarns that appeal considerably to lily-livered John-Wolf. A milquetoast little pup who feels bravest when he sings of pirate glory, his best hopes and worst fears are realized when a crew of salty sea dogs steals him from his bed, insisting that he compose lyrics in praise of their leader, Capt. Drake. But watching the crew fight its enemies renders him frightened and mute. It’s only after the pirates have stopped paying attention to him that he finds his singing voice, jeering at the crew in rhyme—which, unexpectedly, wins him the respect of the captain and crew, and now he jeers in rhyme everywhere he goes. John-Wolf’s sudden change in temperament comes without explanation. Is he now brave because he had the guts to insult the pirates to their faces or because they befriended him? The story was originally published in Dutch, and perhaps some of the awkwardness of the text can be traced to a weak translation. While the descriptions can be amusing (intermittently John-Wolf feels as weak as “a lump of toothpaste,” “a lump of lukewarm butter,” and “a custard bun with strawberries”), the songs often fail to rhyme, scan, or (occasionally) even make sense. Serviceable art fails to correct for the story’s weaknesses.

Lukewarm pirating in a field of hearty buccaneers makes this book cannon fodder, nothing more. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: July 11, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-60537-330-0

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Clavis

Review Posted Online: April 25, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

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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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TINY T. REX AND THE IMPOSSIBLE HUG

by Jonathan Stutzman ; illustrated by Jay Fleck ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2019

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.

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With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?

Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.

Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)