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ALPHABUDDIES

Name: ALPHABUDDIES
Author: Beth Bacon
ISBN: 9780063055971

G IS FIRST!

by Beth Bacon & Karen Kane ; illustrated by Eric Barclay ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 4, 2023

Hilarious and subversive.

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The letter G’s plea that the letters take turns going first is almost defeated by A’s insecurity.

An ABC book thrills G: “Look! It’s a book about us!” When A claims proudly to be “first, as always,” G invents a game called “G is first!” A strenuously objects: “You will NEVER be first!” because “It is all there in the song.” Changing the song, as G naturally suggests is dismissed. Though both G and Z agree that they should take turns going first, A says that changing the alphabet order would “DESTROY reading.” The two rebel letters proceed to sing “G, B, C, D, E, F, A,” and, finding that they survive, accuse A of scare tactics, leading to a confession that A’s rigid adherence stems from a fear of losing status. G and Z reassure A—after all, A is an entire word! A concedes happily that being first doesn’t matter. They sing a new version. Finally, the number 3 asks to join the fun; A and Z are dubious, but G and 3 begin singing, making 3 the third letter of the alphabet, and…BOOM! But it’s not the end of reading—just of the book. The small-panel comic illustrations are charming; the letters, with stick appendages, tiny accessories, and simple but expressive features, have distinct personalities. The bubble-text type is clear and at developing readers’ level, while the pacing and humor are deft. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Hilarious and subversive. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: July 4, 2023

ISBN: 9780063055971

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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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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CLAYMATES

by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Lauren Eldridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2017

The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...

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Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.

A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.

The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)