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LITTLE BO PEEP AND HER BAD, BAD SHEEP

Name: LITTLE BO PEEP AND HER BAD, BAD SHEEP
Author: A.L. Wegwerth
ISBN: 978-1-62370-501-5

A MOTHER GOOSE HULLABALOO

by A.L. Wegwerth ; illustrated by Luke Flowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2016

Skip the narrator’s distraction and just enjoy all the familiar allusions.

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As a narrator tries to recite “Little Bo Peep,” chaos erupts.

Though it won’t be clear to readers whether Bo Peep herself or the people and animals that populate these pages are the ones causing the narrator so much angst, it likely won’t matter—they will be too busy pointing out and searching for clever references to Mother Goose rhymes hidden in the illustrations: Bo Peep’s lost sheep steal the mittens of the Three Little Kittens, an annoying fly is shooed on almost every spread (eventually to be swallowed by an old woman), and the farmer’s wife is threatening the blind mice with her knife. Very observant readers will be able to follow the individual stories of several characters as they go about their business—the kittens trying to get their mittens back, the Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe shopping—but most of the illustrations reflect the hullabaloo of the subtitle. Flowers’ artwork is busy indeed—share one on one, as the pictures require poring over—but for children who stick with it, surprises abound. And for those not up to speed on their nursery rhymes, four spreads of backmatter give the text for each of the 39 rhymes along with a thumbnail illustration so readers can go back and find them.

Skip the narrator’s distraction and just enjoy all the familiar allusions. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-62370-501-5

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Capstone Young Readers

Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

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A LIBRARY

by Nikki Giovanni ; illustrated by Erin K. Robinson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 27, 2022

A lushly illustrated homage to librarians who provide a welcome and a home away from home for all who enter.

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A love letter to libraries.

A Black child, with hair in two puffballs tied with yellow ribbons, a blue dress with a Peter Pan collar, and black patent leather Mary Janes, helps Grandmother with the housework, then, at Grandmother’s suggestion, heads to the library. The child’s eagerness to go, with two books under an arm and one in their hand, suggests that this is a favorite destination. The books’ wordless covers emphasize their endless possibilities. The protagonist’s description of the library makes clear that they are always free to be themselves there—whether they feel happy or sad, whether they’re reading mysteries or recipes, and whether they feel “quick and smart” or “contained and cautious.” Robinson’s vibrant, carefully composed digital illustrations, with bright colors that invite readers in and textures and patterns in every image, effectively capture the protagonist’s passion for reading and appreciation for a space where they feel accepted regardless of disposition. In her author’s note, Giovanni states that she spent summers visiting her grandmother in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she went to the Carnegie Branch of the Lawson McGhee Library. She expresses gratitude for Mrs. Long, the librarian, who often traveled to the main library to get books that Giovanni could not find in their segregated branch. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A lushly illustrated homage to librarians who provide a welcome and a home away from home for all who enter. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-358-38765-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Versify/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

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by Nikki Giovanni ; illustrated by Ashley Bryan

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by Nikki Giovanni & illustrated by Bryan Collier

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edited by Nikki Giovanni and illustrated by Kristen Balouch

- SEEN & HEARD
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SUMMER VACATION, HERE I COME!

From the Here I Come! series

by D.J. Steinberg ; illustrated by John Joven ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 25, 2023

Summertime fun.

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Summer vacation is the stuff children’s dreams are made of.

This collection of verse begins with that first day a child can sleep in instead of being woken up for school by the alarm clock (“BEEP-BEEP-SNOOZE”) and ends with the first day back at school. In between, full-color cartoon illustrations and short, upbeat poems, usually one per page, explore how children in diverse communities spend their summers. They line up on the sidewalk after hearing “the jingle jangle of the ice-cream truck!” They cool off by playing on a backyard slip 'n slide or by visiting the neighborhood pool, the lake, or the beach (where a child builds a sand castle only to see it washed away and another listens to a seashell). Summer also means a family road trip with all-too-frequent rest stops and a motel stay with treats like a giant TV, “teensy soaps and teensy shampoo / and beds made for bouncing.” A trip to an amusement park is captured in a creative shape poem about the thrills of a log ride and playful font changes that emphasize the ever changing perspective found on a Ferris wheel. Summer also includes going to camp as well as camping out in the backyard and enjoying s’mores and an astronomy lesson from Grandpa. As in the creators’ other Here I Come! books, the verse is peppy, with details sure to get kids jazzed, brought to life by the exuberant cartoon art. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Summertime fun. (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)