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JACK’S NEW BOAT

Name: JACK’S NEW BOAT
Author: Sarah McMenemy
ISBN: 0-7636-2477-2

by Sarah McMenemy & illustrated by Sarah McMenemy ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2005

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Jack can’t wait to sail the toy sailboat his Uncle Jim made for him. Every day of his vacation he asks, “Please can I sail my boat today?” and every day his uncle tells him to wait for a calmer sea. Days of stormy weather pass, so the minute the rain stops, Jack races to the beach and puts the boat in the water, thinking it will be “only for a moment.” But the small sailboat disappears beneath a giant wave! The two spend hours searching for the toy, only to find it in the harbor, and only slightly worse for wear. While the story does indirectly extol the virtues of patience, it does thankfully forego a pound-on-the-head lesson to focus instead on Uncle Jim’s sympathy for and friendship with his nephew. The summery illustrations, in paper collage and gouache, are gorgeous, especially as they capture the motion and moods of the ocean with bold brushstrokes and moody blues. As simple and satisfying as a toy sailboat on a salty sea. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: June 1, 2005

ISBN: 0-7636-2477-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Candlewick

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2005

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
BEES IN THE CITY
by Andrea Cheng ; illustrated by Sarah McMenemy

- BOOK REVIEW
TILLIE THE TERRIBLE SWEDE
by Sue Stauffacher & illustrated by Sarah McMenemy

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BUSIEST STREET IN TOWN
by Mara Rockliff and illustrated by Sarah McMenemy

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TEN LITTLE FISH

by Audrey Wood & illustrated by Bruce Wood ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2004

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This charming, colorful counting tale of ten little fish runs full-circle. Although the light verse opens and closes with ten fish swimming in a line, page-by-page the line grows shorter as the number of fish diminishes one-by-one. One fish dives down, one gets lost, one hides, and another takes a nap until a single fish remains. Then along comes another fish to form a couple and suddenly a new family of little fish emerges to begin all over. Slick, digitally-created images of brilliant marine flora and fauna give an illusion of underwater depth and silence enhancing the verse’s numerical and theatrical progression. The holistic story bubbles with life’s endless cycle. (Picture book. 3-5)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-439-63569-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2004

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FULL MOON AT THE NAPPING HOUSE
by Audrey Wood ; illustrated by Don Wood

- BOOK REVIEW
THE BIRTHDAY QUEEN
by Audrey Wood ; illustrated by Don Wood

- BOOK REVIEW
IT'S DUFFY TIME!
by Audrey Wood & illustrated by Don Wood

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HAPPY EASTER FROM THE CRAYONS

by Drew Daywalt ; illustrated by Oliver Jeffers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 7, 2023

Let these crayons go back into their box.

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The Crayons return to celebrate Easter.

Six crayons (Red, Orange, Yellow, Esteban, who is green and wears a yellow cape, White, and Blue) each take a shape and scribble designs on it. Purple, perplexed and almost angry, keeps asking why no one is creating an egg, but the six friends have a great idea. They take the circle decorated with red shapes, the square adorned with orange squiggles “the color of the sun,” the triangle with yellow designs, also “the color of the sun” (a bit repetitious), a rectangle with green wavy lines, a white star, about which Purple remarks: “DID you even color it?” and a rhombus covered with blue markings and slap the shapes onto a big, light-brown egg. Then the conversation turns to hiding the large object in plain sight. The joke doesn’t really work, the shapes are not clear enough for a concept book, and though colors are delineated, it’s not a very original color book. There’s a bit of clever repartee. When Purple observe that Esteban’s green rectangle isn’t an egg, Esteban responds, “No, but MY GOSH LOOK how magnificent it is!” Still, that won’t save this lackluster book, which barely scratches the surface of Easter, whether secular or religious. The multimedia illustrations, done in the same style as the other series entries, are always fun, but perhaps it’s time to retire these anthropomorphic coloring implements. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Let these crayons go back into their box. (Picture book. 3-5)