A predictable yet humorous origin story for an endearing pair.
Meet Pine the Porcupine and Boof the Bear and the lucky red leaf that brings them together.
Boof loves to collect and play with stuff he finds in the forest. But out of all his discoveries, he loves his lucky red leaf the most. Naturally, misfortune soon befalls the good-natured bear: he loses his buddy during a “very windy day.” In one fantastic double-page spread, Burach (I Am Not a Chair!, 2017, etc.) depicts Boof’s loss in a tragic sequence, skillfully injecting a trace of emotional resonance to the story. What’s Boof to do without his leafy pal? Enter Pine, a wannabe adventurer—and a klutz. The plucky porcupine offers his help, and the newly formed duo heads off to search for Boof’s leaf. After looking everywhere, even in Boof’s underwear, Pine and Boof find the leaf on a sleeping boar’s snout. A mad dash follows, as the duo swings from a vine (which turns out to be a snake) and gets stuck in a log. The illustrations feature action and bright colors on each page, depicting the wacky antics with dynamic energy. Burach’s dry narratorial voice frames Pine and Boof’s adventure in a sardonic attitude that pokes light fun at the somewhat commonplace story. Alas, Boof’s leaf escapes the duo’s clutches, but Boof discovers something better in the end: a new friend.
A predictable yet humorous origin story for an endearing pair. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-241850-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
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
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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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