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AROUND THE CLOCK

Name: AROUND THE CLOCK
Author: Roz Chast
ISBN: 978-1-4169-8476-4

by Roz Chast ; illustrated by Roz Chast ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 13, 2015

Entertaining nonsense.

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All kinds of things can happen in a 24-hour period.

A series of common-sense–challenged characters engage in some odd behaviors that range from merely messy through weird to downright grotesque. Beginning at 6 a.m., when Pete sips a drink, and moving through the day and night in hourly increments, readers meet Hazel Jane and her 100 marbles, Lynn and her imaginary friend, the odiferous Shelley and an assortment of other strange people. It finishes with Pete again, having nightmares from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. Each activity is described in rhyming couplets that range from the simplistic “up/cup” to the tortured “muse/chartreuse” and only hint at what is actually happening. In a style similar to that of Steven Kellogg, Chast’s ink-and-watercolor cartoon illustrations are filled with all the detail that is omitted from the text. Pete has turned his kitchen into a disaster area of spilled food and dinosaur toys, while Hazel Jane is dropping marbles down the drain one by one. Steve has set the dinner table with the usual dishes and cutlery, but he has added a hammer, saw, scissors and more. All the characters have round bug eyes and appear permanently startled. Young readers will have fun examining these vignettes many times to find new and amusing elements.

Entertaining nonsense. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4169-8476-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
TIRED TOWN
by Patricia Marx ; illustrated by Roz Chast

- BOOK REVIEW
NO FAIR! NO FAIR!
by Calvin Trillin ; illustrated by Roz Chast

- BOOK REVIEW
MARCO GOES TO SCHOOL
by Roz Chast & illustrated by Roz Chast

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY FROM THE CRAYONS

by Drew Daywalt ; illustrated by Oliver Jeffers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2025

Another endearing and amusing outing with these winsome characters.

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The Crayons love a holiday, and Mother’s Day is no exception.

Every color is different, and so is every mom. Purple’s mother, seated cross-legged in a yoga pose, “doesn’t color inside the lines.” Red’s works tirelessly to support her family, which sometimes means missing holidays. White Crayon adores his mother, “even though he can’t see her” (the accompanying image shows both crayons fading into the white background), while pale lime green Esteban’s mom supports his “dreams of adventure” by helping him pack. All the Crayons celebrate their families on this day, and not all the parents look like their children or are mothers. Laudably, Daywalt and Jeffers depict a variety of different families, allowing many readers to feel seen: Black can’t contain her love for both her mothers, the hair-covered brownish-beige Barfy Crayon embraces his stepmom, Chunky Toddler (a chubby crayon with a bite taken out of him) pays tribute to his dad on Mother’s Day, Yellow and Orange honor their grandmother, and Maroon, presumably adopted, sings the praises of his mom, a pot of glue who literally holds the family together. As in previous Crayon books, Jeffers’ elegantly quirky and humorous illustrations complement Daywalt’s delightful text, which adeptly balances humor and heart.

Another endearing and amusing outing with these winsome characters. (Picture book. 4-8)