Artistic expression clashes with classroom discipline, and neither is the winner.
Dance should be a 24/7 activity—or so believes one young fan.
A little girl, clad in fashionable fuchsia, has a total dance mindset. “Dancing is a big part of me!” Starting school, meeting her teacher, and classroom activities all translate into dance routines as Ruby arabesques, pirouettes, and promenades in front of her disapproving teacher and a shushing librarian. Mere lines are not for Ruby’s class. They tap dance to lunch, where Ruby leaps and cancans with her tray. Finally quieting down, Ruby asks her teacher when they will dance. Hearing that there just isn’t time for dance at school, Ruby jumps up in horror and upsets a very large ant farm—causing everyone, including the teacher, to dance frantically about. Ruby feels vindicated and suffers no pangs of guilt or concern at what she has wrought. Dance is certainly an important art and should be part of a curriculum, but Ruby unfortunately takes her enthusiasm, bordering on obsession, to an unpleasant extreme. The digitally rendered artwork depicts children and teachers of diverse colors if not facial features, but the sketchy figures, which are outlined in black and set against a white background, give the pages a slapdash, unfinished look.
Artistic expression clashes with classroom discipline, and neither is the winner. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-223569-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Still, preschoolers will likely savor this mouthwatering treatment of a subject that looms large in many early school...
The familiar theme of the challenges facing a new kid in town is given an original treatment by photographer Border in this book of photos of three-dimensional objects in a simple modeled landscape.
Peanut Butter is represented by a slice of white bread spread with the popular condiment. The other characters in the story—a hamburger with a pair of hot dogs in tow, a bowl of alphabet soup, a meatball jumping a rope of spaghetti, a carton of French fries and a pink cupcake—are represented by skillfully crafted models of these foods, anthropomorphized using simple wire construction. Rejected by each character in turn in his search for playmates, Peanut Butter discovers in the end that Jelly is his true match (not Cupcake, as the title suggests), perhaps because she is the only one who looks like him, being a slice of white bread spread with jelly. The friendly foods end up happily playing soccer together. Some parents may have trouble with the unabashedly happy depiction of carbs and American junk food (no carrots or celery sticks in this landscape), and others may find themselves troubled by the implication that friendship across difference is impossible.
Still, preschoolers will likely savor this mouthwatering treatment of a subject that looms large in many early school experiences. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16773-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.
Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
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