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ANONYMOOSE

Name: ANONYMOOSE
Author: Shawna J.C. Tenney
ISBN: 9781506497648

by Shawna J.C. Tenney ; illustrated by Shawna J.C. Tenney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

The fine message here: Don’t shy away from the chance to be and have a good friend.

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Stepping out is better than hiding out.

Ana Moose prefers being alone. She doesn’t have to worry about finding the right thing to say or being picked last for teams. Blending into her surroundings, she dubs herself Anonymoose. Then she sees her classmate Peter, a porcupine, building a fort and wishes she could share her own architectural ideas without revealing herself. So, day after day, Ana leaves sketches from “Anonymoose” around; Peter incorporates her plans into his creation. Ana enjoys watching the fort improving daily. Then her best idea strikes: a tall tower. Is she brave enough to tell Peter personally? Nah. Ana shares her brainstorm the usual way; Peter adds it. Alas, he tumbles and gets hurt, and the fort crashes to the ground. Ana’s dilemma: Reveal herself and help or remain concealed? While she’s thinking, Peter limps off. Next day, Ana hides again, waiting for Peter to return; he doesn’t. Remorseful, Ana slowly emerges from seclusion and attempts to rebuild the fort, unaware that Peter’s actually nearby, observing. Together, they re-create—no, improve on—the original, and they bond. Ana’s no longer Anonymoose. This sweet story reassures readers that shyness is OK and can be overcome. Peter’s fort serves as a metaphor for the walls we sometimes build to shield ourselves from relationships. The colorful, charming illustrations exude lively fun. Ana and Peter are very endearing, relatable protagonists.

The fine message here: Don’t shy away from the chance to be and have a good friend. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024

ISBN: 9781506497648

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Beaming Books

Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
BLOOD! NOT JUST A VAMPIRE DRINK
by Stacy McAnulty ; illustrated by Shawna J.C. Tenney

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BRUNHILDA'S BACKWARDS DAY
by Shawna J.C. Tenney ; illustrated by Shawna J.C. Tenney

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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
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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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)