DePaola recounts another anecdote from his childhood in this school story that explores the concept of “stealing the show.” The main character, Tommy, is very interested in dancing and acting, and he hopes to be cast as Peter Rabbit in the class play. When he’s cast instead in a minor role as Mopsy the rabbit sibling, he upstages everyone during the performance, earning lots of laughs and applause, but displeasing his mom and teacher. Tommy has to apologize to his teacher and to the boy who played Peter Rabbit, but he can’t forget the laughter and applause and can’t wait for his next performance opportunity. Teachers putting on classroom plays of their own will find this story useful, both for its thoughtful exploration of appropriate behavior on stage and for a general introduction to the theatrical experience. As in DePaola’s other stories that incorporate his childhood memories, this classroom is a peek back into an earlier time, with boys in knickers and girls in dresses and hair bows, but the emotions of a budding thespian remain the same. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-399-24338-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2005
One of the watershed moments in African-American history—the defeat of James Braddock at the hands of Joe Louis—is here given an earnest picture-book treatment. Despite his lack of athletic ability, Sammy wants desperately to be a great boxer, like his hero, getting boxing lessons from his friend Ernie in exchange for help with schoolwork. However hard he tries, though, Sammy just can’t box, and his father comforts him, reminding him that he doesn’t need to box: Joe Louis has shown him that he “can be the champion at anything [he] want[s].” The high point of this offering is the big fight itself, everyone crowded around the radio in Mister Jake’s general store, the imagined fight scenes played out in soft-edged sepia frames. The main story, however, is so bent on providing Sammy and the reader with object lessons that all subtlety is lost, as Mister Jake, Sammy’s father, and even Ernie hammer home the message. Both text and oil-on-canvas-paper illustrations go for the obvious angle, making the effort as a whole worthy, but just a little too heavy-handed. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-58430-161-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
A charming year in the life of a most idyllic farm; horse lovers will be entranced.
Let’s go for a pony ride!
Lily, a young Black child who lives on a farm, takes readers on a tour. Meadows’ verse leads us step by step through the seasons—ponies grazing in a pasture on a warm day, Lily taking part in a pony show in autumn, and ponies hunkering down in the barn, taking refuge from the “frost and snow” of winter. The easy rhythm of the text pairs well with Cloud’s soft, pastoral vistas. While the story is delivered with a light touch, it still shows the hard work of caring for a large animal. “Soapy water in a pail. / Gentle strokes from head to tail.” “Pick the hooves / for stone and dirt / I notice when / my pony’s hurt.” Exuding familial warmth, the bright artwork lets readers follow Lily from pastures to picnics—and even, best of all, to the arrival of a newcomer: “A foal is born / New life is here.” This easy reader will speak to any child who has wished for a pony of their own and refreshingly centers a family of color—something not often seen in similar titles.
A charming year in the life of a most idyllic farm; horse lovers will be entranced. (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780593483169
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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