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FLIP & FIN

Name: FLIP & FIN
Author: Timothy Gill
ISBN: 978-0-06-224301-0

SUPER SHARKS TO THE RESCUE!

From the Flip & Fin series

by Timothy Gill ; illustrated by Neil Numberman ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 14, 2016

A passable tale for the shark-obsessed, but there are funnier fish in the sea

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Sand shark twins Flip and Fin return as supersharks.

Watching their favorite TV cartoon heroes, Sammy Saw Shark and Harry Hammerhead, saucer-eyed shark siblings Flip and Fin decide they want to be superheroes too and set out to find someone to help. As they zip along through the sea, they find their friends Swimmy the jellyfish and Molly the anglerfish (unlikely eyelashes reinforce her femininity). They all decide to be super together. Fin zips through the waves at the surface. Flip flips out of the water and lands on something strange and bouncy. They don’t know what it is, but they know it belongs to the human people and decide they will be heroes if they return it to the beach. However, when they arrive at the beach, all the humans run screaming. They are afraid of the sharks, of course, but Flip and Fin think they are afraid of the ball, so they bite it and end up heroes (in their minds at least). Gill’s second Flip & Fin tale (mostly free of the bad jokes that peppered the first) is not as clever as it intends to be. The fishy foursome doesn’t know what they’ve found at first but then spontaneously start calling it a “ball.” Numberman’s cartoon watercolor illustrations out-goof the tale they help tell.

A passable tale for the shark-obsessed, but there are funnier fish in the sea . (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: June 14, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-224301-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
FLIP & FIN
by Timothy Gill ; illustrated by Neil Numberman

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CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

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A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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THE COOL BEAN MAKES A SPLASH

From the I Can Read! series

by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2024

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.

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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)