Young readers will love Sabrina Sue.
A quiet story about pursuing one’s dreams and sharing them with others.
Even though chickens aren’t waterfowl, the hen protagonist of this early reader is enamored of the sea. Sabrina Sue has never been there, but she’s read about it and dreamed about it for her whole life. The other animals on the farm scoff at Sabrina Sue’s dream of seeing the sea, with the exception of a sympathetic frog (who’s never mentioned in text but who the illustrations demonstrate clearly is Sabrina Sue’s boon companion). She doesn’t let them stop her, though. Stowing away in the back of Farmer Martha’s pickup truck, Sabrina Sue and the frog go to the sea—and it’s everything she hoped it would be. Cartoon illustrations are energetic and humorous in tone, with details like Sabrina Sue’s diving mask (donned long before she gets to the waterfront) sure to provoke readers’ giggles. There are no calamities or disappointments for comic effect, just scenes of the delighted chicken and sidekick amphibian frolicking in the sand and sea. When she becomes lonesome for her friends (despite their earlier scoffing), Sabrina Sue and the frog return to the farm to share stories of their seaside adventure. The easy-reading narrative text is set in a large, clear font; dialogue conveyed in a faux handwriting type is set in speech bubbles. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-12-inch double-page spreads viewed at 21% of actual size.)
Young readers will love Sabrina Sue. (Early reader. 4-8)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8425-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Simon Spotlight
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.
All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.
Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.
New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)Pub Date: May 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among
Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.
If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”
Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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