Wells (Yoko, 1998, etc.) makes numbers fun and relevant to daily life in this longer than usual picture book. Emily’s teacher promises that her class will have a special celebration on the 100th day of school. Every day the children write a new number in their number books and Emily includes it in a story. Those one- or two-sentence stories tell about Emily’s lessons in school, the antics of her friends and family, and her thoughts and feelings as she lives through these hundred days. Each of the little stories says a lot in a few words: “Eloise is thirteen years old. She thinks she knows everything.” Some stories have specific references that children may not know, but Wells gives them context through the illustrations. For the number sixteen, grandpa and grandma play “Sixteen Tons” and the first line of the music and words dance above their heads. Wells’s ink and watercolor drawings of effervescent little animals with human characteristics are familiar to her readers and sure to bring a smile. The variety of the page design, bold colors, movement, and humor create interest and liveliness. Some numbers have a full-page spread; others share the page. Pages may have frames or borders filled with objects related to the story; others have color extended to the corners. Every page is filled with details, but the numbers stand out, as do the many counting opportunities, making this a delightful learning opportunity. It also fulfills a need for teachers who follow the well-known mathematical pedagogy program that the celebration describes. Delicious! (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7868-0507-2
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Scotton makes a stylish debut with this tale of a sleepless sheep—depicted as a blocky, pop-eyed, very soft-looking woolly with a skinny striped nightcap of unusual length—trying everything, from stripping down to his spotted shorts to counting all six hundred million billion and ten stars, twice, in an effort to doze off. Not even counting sheep . . . well, actually, that does work, once he counts himself. Dawn finds him tucked beneath a rather-too-small quilt while the rest of his flock rises to bathe, brush and riffle through the Daily Bleat. Russell doesn’t have quite the big personality of Ian Falconer’s Olivia, but more sophisticated fans of the precocious piglet will find in this art the same sort of daffy urbanity. Quite a contrast to the usual run of ovine-driven snoozers, like Phyllis Root’s Ten Sleepy Sheep, illustrated by Susan Gaber (2004). (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-059848-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2005
Amusing, yes. Useful for reading practice, yes, but not necessarily guaranteed to make new readers the “read-i-est.” (Early...
Elephant and Piggie make an appearance to introduce the first in their new series, an egalitarian introduction to superlatives.
Each one of seven blades of talking grass—of a total of eight—discovers that it is superb at something: it’s tallest, curliest, silliest, and so forth. The humor aims to appeal to a broad spectrum. It is slightly disturbing that one being eaten by purple bugs is proud of being the crunchiest, but that will certainly appeal to a slice of the audience. The eighth blade of grass is grappling with a philosophical identity crisis; its name is Walt, a sly reference to Whitman's Leaves of Grass that will go right over the heads of beginning readers but may amuse astute parents or teachers. Tension builds with the approach of a lawn mower; the blades of grass lose their unique features when they are trimmed to equal heights. Mercifully, they are chopped off right above the eyes and can continue their silly banter. Departing from the image of a Whitman-esque free spirit, Walt now discovers he is the neatest. Lots of speech bubbles, repetition, and clear layout make this entry a useful addition to lessons on adjectives and superlatives while delivering a not-so-subtle message that everyone is good at something. Elephant and Piggie's final assertion that “this book is the FUNNIEST” doesn't necessarily make it so, however.
Amusing, yes. Useful for reading practice, yes, but not necessarily guaranteed to make new readers the “read-i-est.” (Early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-2635-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
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