A picture book for The Office–loving adults to read by themselves.
An earnest but incompetent kid strives to bring order to his elementary school classroom in this picture-book companion to the TV show The Office.
When Michael Scott is appointed class Line Leader at Dunder Mifflin Elementary, he has his mom fashion him a sippy cup that reads “World’s Best Line Leader.” A kid named Dwight observes the chaos in the classroom—which is mystifyingly devoid of adults for the entire book—and tells Michael he might need some help. Other kids agree. Accepting Dwight as Assistant to the Line Leader, Michael proceeds to tell Angela to plan a party to be held in five minutes’ time and then struggles to fulfill his function by lining the kids up. Several pages of ineffectual lining-up later, Pam suggests Michael ask for help. A brainstorming session yields several ideas, including “beet harvesting,…pretzel toppings, cuteness, [and the] buddy system.” As Michael surveys his classmates happily eating cake, he concludes, “I lead a great class.” In Demmer’s cartoon illustrations, all the kids have a bobblehead look, with wide, staring eyes; most, including Michael, present White. Periodically the narrative stops to allow one or two students to break the fourth wall and comment on the action in some fashion. These interruptions are in keeping with the TV show’s formula but do not provide enough scaffolding to allow child readers to understand what’s going on; nonsensical dialogue (“A mistake plus Keleven equals seven!”) likewise excludes children from the joke. Adult readers with familiarity with the TV series may find it hilarious. Readers with no familiarity—that is, just about every single kid in this book’s putative audience—will not. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11.4-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 51.5% of actual size.)
A picture book for The Office–loving adults to read by themselves. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-316-42838-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2021
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
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