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BEN SAYS GOODBYE

Name: BEN SAYS GOODBYE
Author: Sarah Ellis
ISBN: 978-1-927485-79-8

by Sarah Ellis ; illustrated by Kim LaFave ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2016

Any young child who has experienced the loss of a close friend will find this story resonant.

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Little Ben’s best friend, Peter, is moving away, and Ben is heartbroken.

The only way he can deal with his sadness is by moving himself—not away, however, but to an imaginary cave under the table. Caveboy Ben eats with his fingers, plays with rocks, and protects himself with a club and a stick. He communicates mostly nonverbally, using “Guh” for everything. In the safety of his cave, he expresses his loss in an imaginative series of drawings depicting the two best buddies having fun and doing all kinds of boy stuff. The drawings become increasingly complex, showing the two friends tunneling toward each other through an underground world of subways, ancient cities, and buried treasure. The center of the Earth is, of course, the perfect place for a barbecue, so the boys roast chili dogs and hang out in Ben’s cave drawings. The spell is broken when Ben smells popcorn, returning somewhat grudgingly to his long-suffering family. In a reversal of the opening scene, movers arrive at Peter’s old house, bringing boxes and a scooter that clearly belongs to someone Ben’s age, perhaps a new friend. The upbeat, cartoon-style drawings, thickly outlined with an effect that looks like charcoal, neatly complement the simple, declarative text.

Any young child who has experienced the loss of a close friend will find this story resonant. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-927485-79-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Pajama Press

Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
DODGER BOY
by Sarah Ellis

- BOOK REVIEW
BEN AND THE SCAREDY-DOG
by Sarah Ellis ; illustrated by Kim LaFave

- BOOK REVIEW
WAITING FOR SOPHIE
by Sarah Ellis ; illustrated by Carmen Mok

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2025

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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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)