If silliness is what was aimed for, it sort of succeeds—but, if so, it is not silly enough.
What can you say when even the jacket blurb calls it “a lighthearted lesson in humility”?
First of all, it isn’t. Humility is not what is going on, just bad manners and a dose of fractured fairy tale. Isabel is perfect in every way, but she won’t say “please.” When Isabel leaves a tiny shoe at the prince’s ball and is about to put her tiny toes into it, the prince says, “Say ‘please,’ ” but she won’t. He goes off to meet Cinderella. Isabel’s stepmother (who is really not attractive at all) offers her the poisoned apple, but since Isabel won’t say please, Isabel remains without a prince. And when Isabel drops her golden ball into the frog’s pond, she won’t say please to get it back. But walking lost in a forest, she screams for help and says “please” to the prince who happens by to rescue her, and he is so taken by “her humility and fine manners” that he falls in love. Haley’s cartoon characters have googly eyes, squiggly limbs and a sense of humor (see the Groucho glasses on the stepmother), and Isabel’s pastel-and-rosebud look is right for the story. It’s hard to know what to make of this. Saying “please” makes the prince appear and propose? Manners make the princess?
If silliness is what was aimed for, it sort of succeeds—but, if so, it is not silly enough. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2323-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Totes adorbs.
A cuddly, squishy pug’s puggy-wuggy diary.
Equipped with both #pugunicorn and #pughotdog outfits, pug Baron von Bubbles (aka Bub) is the kind of dog that always dresses to impress. Bub also makes lots of memorable faces, such as the “Hey, you’re not the boss of me!” expression aimed at Duchess, the snooty pink house cat. Some of Bub’s favorite things include skateboarding, a favorite teddy, and eating peanut butter. Bub also loves Bella, who adopted Bub from a fair—it was “love at first sniff.” Together, Bub and Bella do a lot of arts and crafts. Their latest project: entering Bella’s school’s inventor challenge by making a super-duper awesome rocket. But, when the pesky neighborhood squirrel, Nutz, makes off with Bub’s bear, Bub accidentally ruins their project. How will they win the contest? More importantly, how will Bella ever forgive him? May’s cutesy, full-color cartoon art sets the tone for this pug-tastic romp for the new-to–chapter-books crowd. Emojilike faces accentuate Bub’s already expressive character design. Bub’s infectious first-person narration pushes the silly factor off the charts. In addition to creating the look and feel of a diary, the lined paper helps readers follow the eight-chapter story. Most pages have fewer than five sentences, often broken into smaller sections. Additional text appears in color-coded speech bubbles. Bella presents white.
Totes adorbs. (Fiction. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-53003-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.
The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.
Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780063329560
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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