Useful, perhaps, for conflict resolution, if not ground-breaking.
Neighbors Bear and Woodpecker exchange a few choice words.
“Bear needed a lot of sleep. Two hundred and forty-three and a half days to be precise. Anything less and he turned grizzly.” However, Bear is a light sleeper, so just to make sure he’s not disturbed, he hangs signs and makes a soundproof front door out of some local trees. He drifts off to sleep—but not for long. Woodpecker is aghast to find that some of the best houses he has created with his pecking are gone. The trail of debris leads to Bear’s door. Woodpecker pecks up a ruckus, and a cranky Bear calls him a “featherbutt.” The woodland gossips are a-twitter, and it gets back to Woodpecker. Woodpecker is initially angry but then begins to sniffle (while continuing to peck), which annoys Bear and leads to another angry exchange. Woodpecker calls Bear “fuzzybutt,” now hurting Bear’s feelings. After a mutual apology, the erstwhile enemies become friends, working together to make sure Bear gets his sleep and Woodpecker can create his houses some distance away. Batori’s slightly anthropomorphized illustrations of chunky forest creatures suit Newman’s tale of name-calling and reconciliation. Listeners likely won’t settle their own arguments so quickly, but they can try to follow Bear and Woodpecker’s example. And they will love the many iterations of butt. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 57.1% of actual size.)
Useful, perhaps, for conflict resolution, if not ground-breaking. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: March 15, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5341-1073-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with...
Reynolds and Brown have crafted a Halloween tale that balances a really spooky premise with the hilarity that accompanies any mention of underwear.
Jasper Rabbit needs new underwear. Plain White satisfies him until he spies them: “Creepy underwear! So creepy! So comfy! They were glorious.” The underwear of his dreams is a pair of radioactive-green briefs with a Frankenstein face on the front, the green color standing out all the more due to Brown’s choice to do the entire book in grayscale save for the underwear’s glowing green…and glow they do, as Jasper soon discovers. Despite his “I’m a big rabbit” assertion, that glow creeps him out, so he stuffs them in the hamper and dons Plain White. In the morning, though, he’s wearing green! He goes to increasing lengths to get rid of the glowing menace, but they don’t stay gone. It’s only when Jasper finally admits to himself that maybe he’s not such a big rabbit after all that he thinks of a clever solution to his fear of the dark. Brown’s illustrations keep the backgrounds and details simple so readers focus on Jasper’s every emotion, writ large on his expressive face. And careful observers will note that the underwear’s expression also changes, adding a bit more creep to the tale.
Perfect for those looking for a scary Halloween tale that won’t leave them with more fears than they started with. Pair with Dr. Seuss’ tale of animate, empty pants. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0298-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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