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CHAIWALA!

Name: CHAIWALA!
Author: Priti Birla Maheshwari
ISBN: 978-1-77147-368-2

by Priti Birla Maheshwari ; illustrated by Ashley Barron ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 2021

Sweetly captures a slice of Indian life.

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A child and their mother are on a train in India.

When the train pulls into Jaipur station, the stop is 10 minutes long: just long enough to get a delicious cup of chai. Parent and child rush to the chai counter and wait in line for their turn. After they order, the child watches the chaiwala make their tea. First, he uses a mortar and pestle to grind up cardamom, ginger, black pepper, cloves, and cinnamon. Next, he drops fresh tea leaves into the pot. He then adds milk and sugar and heats everything until it starts to “boil and bubble.” Finally, he pours the tea into glasses, transferring it back and forth from pitcher to glass until it cools. The mother and child also purchase some sweets to dip into the tea—“biscuits and rusks”—and sit on the platform to enjoy their snack before the train takes off again. The text describes a scene familiar to many Indian train passengers, using authentic details and multisensory descriptions. The liberal use of onomatopoeia makes the book particularly fun to read out loud. The cut-paper illustrations are charming and do a wonderful job capturing the essence of Indian railway stations. While there is a clearly Sikh character shown on the platform, there are no characters who are obviously Muslim. Based on the mother’s bindi, the main characters appear to be Hindu. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Sweetly captures a slice of Indian life. (Picture book. 2-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-77147-368-2

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Owlkids Books

Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S CHRISTMAS

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 2014

Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...

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The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.

The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.

Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)

Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3

Page Count: 24

Publisher: HMH Books

Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

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TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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HOW TO CATCH A MAMASAURUS

From the How To Catch… series

by Alice Walstead ; illustrated by Andy Elkerton ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2024

A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series.

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Another creature is on the loose.

The long-running series continues its successful formula with this Hallmark card of a book, which features bright illustrations and catchy rhymes. This time, the mythical creature the racially diverse children set out to catch is an absent mom who does it all (lists of descriptors include the words banker, caregiver, nurse, doctor, driver, chef, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, playmate, laundry service, problem solver, handywoman, cleaner, and alarm clock) but doesn’t seem to have a job outside the home and is inexplicably a dinosaur. As the children prepare gifts and a meal for her, the text becomes an ode to the skills the Mamasaurus possesses (“Day or night she’s always there. / She meets every wish and need”) and values she instills (“Sometimes life can mean hard work,” “kindness matters,” and “what counts is doing your best”). This well-intentioned selection veers into cliche generously sprinkled with saccharine but manages to redeem itself with its appreciation for mothers and all that they may do. Endpapers include a “to” and “from” page framed in a heart, as well as a page where young gift givers or recipients can draw a picture of their Mamasaurus.