Readers will have a fine time with these rhymes and certainly won’t be averse to the verse.
A little sister adds a unique spin to her brother’s story.
A boy who’s proud of his rhyming prowess has written a book in verse. As he recounts his story, his younger sib repeatedly butts in and completes each stanza with her own peculiar, non-rhyming twists that take his masterpiece in riotous directions. Readers will mostly figure out what the brother’s “real” rhyming word should be in almost every interrupted instance throughout, courtesy of the author’s strong hints (for instance, cutting off part of the intended word with hyphens). Thereafter, the author assumes missing rhyming words are obvious enough that further hints are unnecessary, though picture clues help. For example, little sis chimes in with “his pocket” when “book” is clearly intended, and so on for the duration of this clever, humorous exercise in poetry appreciation, wordplay, and vocabulary development. The brother complains that his sibling’s spoiled his rhyme scheme, but when he takes a closer look at her additions, he realizes there was a method to her madness. All’s forgiven, and the brother acknowledges she’s a “rhyming prodigy.” Readers will appreciate these rollicking rhymes and laugh at the sister’s out-there ideas. The comical digital illustrations will elicit chuckles. The boy’s dialogue is set in blue type, while the sister’s is in red and emphatically boldfaced. The brother is tan-skinned; his sister is brown-skinned.
Readers will have a fine time with these rhymes and certainly won’t be averse to the verse. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780593406380
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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