Good spirits takes the solemnity out of differences.
They could be Felix and Oscar of The Odd Couple, except Perry has made one into what looks like an animated peanut (named, appropriately, Peanut) and the other a tidy refrigerator with Jimmy Durante’s beezer.
Moe likes things on the controlled, neat side; Peanut likes things in constant motion. “Too much splashing” is met with “not enough puddles.” “Too much food” is countered with “Not enough syrup.” The two of them go back and forth, one unnerved by the gathering chaos, the other ready to test the limits of chaos theory. But it is rather fun. Moe may be a bit of a neatnik, but the pink-nosed, snaggle-toothed blue monster isn’t oppressive about it, and Peanut is never an in-your-face pest—actually Peanut’s always looking for the silver lining to turn Moe’s grumbles (though Moe rarely, rarely has a grumpy face) into joy: “Too much mess.” “Not enough bubbles!” That is what separates this book about differences—the mood is upbeat. Even when Moe blows a fuse and goes out into the night to study the stars (though it is raining) and get away from the mayhem, readers know common ground is not far away and that after Peanut has cleaned the place up—inquiring upon Moe’s return if it is “Too much” tidiness—all will be well.
Good spirits takes the solemnity out of differences. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-101-91950-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
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
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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