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YOU MUST BE THIS TALL

Name: YOU MUST BE THIS TALL
Author: Steven Weinberg
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2981-8

by Steven Weinberg ; illustrated by Steven Weinberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2016

Humorously speaks to kids’ frustrations but doesn’t support rule-following.

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Tongue-in-cheek humor explores that age-old conundrum facing every child who is too short to ride some exciting attraction.

Frank and Harold are best buddies enjoying a day at the fair. They are “slammin’! Ridin’! Spinnin’! Bouncin’!” But this fun cannot compare to that to be had on the Rattler, a big, twisty roller coaster that lights up their eyes and sets their hearts to racing. But to ride, they have to get past the pig in the bow tie and top hat with the measuring stick. Frank, a long, skinny, striped snake, has height to spare, but Harold, a short rattlesnake, does not. Suddenly the fair is not so much fun. But Frank won’t give up on the dream of riding the Rattler together. While his first two plans fail—a disguise and stretching on the flying trapeze—he still has one trick up his sleeve…or is that down his gullet? (And it doesn’t involve platform shoes.) Bright candy-colored watercolor, pencil, and digital illustrations capture the flavor of a fair, spots and double-page spreads used to great effect, and readers must rotate the book 90 degrees every time Harold tries to measure up next to an increasingly angry pig. Unfortunately, Weinberg never addresses the need for height requirements on amusement rides, even in an author’s note, leaving readers feeling that the rule is arbitrary and can be circumvented.

Humorously speaks to kids’ frustrations but doesn’t support rule-following. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 12, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4814-2981-8

Page Count: 40

Publisher: McElderry

Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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ASTRONUTS MISSION THREE
by Jon Scieszka ; illustrated by Steven Weinberg

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FRIDGE AND OVEN'S BIG JOB
by Steven Weinberg ; illustrated by Steven Weinberg

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ASTRONUTS MISSION TWO
by Jon Scieszka ; illustrated by Steven Weinberg

PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

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Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.

If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
PETE THE KITTY'S FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL
by Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean

- BOOK REVIEW
I LOVE PETE THE KITTY
by James Dean & Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean

- BOOK REVIEW
TOOL SCHOOL
by Joan Holub ; illustrated by James Dean

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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)