A classic, traditional tale of heroine, villain, and hero—perhaps too traditional.
In this British picture-book melodrama, a dancing mouse named Marguerite is bullied by the rat Randolph and eventually rescued by the shy but heroic mouse Benjamin.
A calligraphic letter B starts off the descriptive text: “Benjamin lived at the bottom of the tallest steeple in the cathedral yard….Marguerite lived next to the little fountain….Every day Benjamin watched Marguerite dancing around the fountain. He longed to be friends with her but Benjamin was shy and didn’t dare. So Marguerite danced alone.” When Randolph, whose eyes are “as black as oil,” dances with Marguerite, it is only because he is scheming to have the fountain to himself. When Randolph banishes Marguerite to a tiny space in the old sewer, Benjamin—with some assistance from Marguerite—finds and realizes his own courage and ingenuity. The artwork is priceless: watercolors that accurately reflect all the rodents’ emotions and show well-conceived backgrounds. Unfortunately, they draw on tired tropes of color: villainous bully Randolph is black; dainty, beautiful Marguerite is white; timid Benjamin is light brown. This combines with the antiquated maiden-in-need-of-rescue storyline to reinforce attitudes and associations that need to be put in the past. At times, the busy layouts make following the text sequence difficult, which distracts from the high drama that provides a primer on bullying.
A classic, traditional tale of heroine, villain, and hero—perhaps too traditional. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-857337-97-6
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Hutton Grove
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
