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THE HELLO ATLAS

Name: THE HELLO ATLAS
Author: Ben Handicott
ISBN: 978-1-84780-863-9

LISTEN TO 133 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES!

by Ben Handicott ; illustrated by Kenard Pak ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 20, 2016

So many different ways to say hello or to wish someone a good day, a fine meal, or a happy birthday! (Informational picture...

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Children around the world offer greetings and conversational overtures in over 125 languages.

Elaborating on the idea behind Manya Stojic’s Hello World (2002) and similar polyglot consciousness-raisers, Handicott places dozens of small figures on blank maps of each continent (even Antarctica), then introduces each speaker in a separate panel offering a friendly greeting or question. Along with sampling widely spoken languages, readers can try their tongues on “Kiaora” (Maori “Hello”), “Ti mxëë?” (“What’s your name?” in Mixe), or somewhat-longer expressions such as “Najotj’o ri nzengwats’ü” (“Pleased to meet you” in Mazahua). Lists at the end offer further short phrases for each entry, and an associated app (not available for review) supplies audio versions for help with pronunciation. This will be a necessity for just about everybody, as there are no phonetic spellings. The introductory notes about each language’s speakers and linguistic family aren't as detailed as those in Jonathan Litton’s Hello World, illustrated by L'Atelier Cartographik (2016), but there is more vocabulary, along with many more indigenous entries. Pak promotes an expansive view too, with figures that are not only not always dressed in stereotypical national costume, but even in places like Finland and Ireland are nearly all variously dark-skinned. Indeed, the legacy of colonialism seems almost entirely suppressed; a French-Canadian child and an Afrikaans-speaking child are the only obviously white figures in North America and Africa, respectively.

So many different ways to say hello or to wish someone a good day, a fine meal, or a happy birthday! (Informational picture book. 7-11)

Pub Date: Dec. 20, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-84780-863-9

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions

Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
50 MAPS OF THE WORLD
by Ben Handicott & Kalya Ryan ; illustrated by Sol Linero

WAYSIDE SCHOOL BENEATH THE CLOUD OF DOOM

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WAYSIDE SCHOOL BENEATH THE CLOUD OF DOOM

by Louis Sachar ; illustrated by Tim Heitz ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 3, 2020

Ordinary kids in an extraordinary setting: still a recipe for bright achievements and belly laughs.

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Rejoice! 25 years later, Wayside School is still in session, and the children in Mrs. Jewls’ 30th-floor classroom haven’t changed a bit.

The surreal yet oddly educational nature of their misadventures hasn’t either. There are out-and-out rib ticklers, such as a spelling lesson featuring made-up words and a determined class effort to collect 1 million nail clippings. Additionally, mean queen Kathy steps through a mirror that turns her weirdly nice and she discovers that she likes it, a four-way friendship survives a dumpster dive after lost homework, and Mrs. Jewls makes sure that a long-threatened “Ultimate Test” allows every student to show off a special talent. Episodic though the 30 new chapters are, there are continuing elements that bind them—even to previous outings, such as the note to an elusive teacher Calvin has been carrying since Sideways Stories From Wayside School (1978) and finally delivers. Add to that plenty of deadpan dialogue (“Arithmetic makes my brain numb,” complains Dameon. “That’s why they’re called ‘numb-ers,’ ” explains D.J.) and a wild storm from the titular cloud that shuffles the school’s contents “like a deck of cards,” and Sachar once again dishes up a confection as scrambled and delicious as lunch lady Miss Mush’s improvised “Rainbow Stew.” Diversity is primarily conveyed in the illustrations.

Ordinary kids in an extraordinary setting: still a recipe for bright achievements and belly laughs. (Fiction. 9-11)

Pub Date: March 3, 2020

ISBN: 978-0-06-296538-7

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

- BOOK REVIEW
FUZZY MUD
by Louis Sachar

- BOOK REVIEW
THE CARDTURNER
by Louis Sachar

- BOOK REVIEW
SMALL STEPS
by Louis Sachar

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THE TERRIBLE TWO

From the Terrible Two series , Vol. 1

by Mac Barnett ; Jory John ; illustrated by Kevin Cornell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 13, 2015

Fluffy, fast, fun reading for fans of Clueless McGee and the Wimpy Kid.

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Miles used to live near the sea. Miles had friends. Miles was his school's greatest prankster...how will he survive a move to Yawnee Valley?

Yawnee Valley is famous for one thing: cows. All new students at Yawnee Valley Science and Letters Academy receive a booklet of 1,346 interesting cow facts from fussbudget fifth-generation principal Barry Barkin. On the first day of school, when Principal Barkin's car is found mysteriously parked on the school's steps, Barkin suspects Miles and assigns Niles Sparks to be Miles' buddy. Miles can't think of anything more awful than spending every moment of every day with smiling, officious, king-of-the-obvious Niles. On top of that, Barkin's son, Josh, has decided Miles is a good bullying target. To make life interesting, Miles plans a perfect prank in his pranking notebook, but it’s foiled. That's followed by an invitation to join forces in pranking from an unexpected source...no way! Let the prank war commence! Barnett and John launch their cow-resplendent illustrated series with the humorous origin story of the pranking duo who lend the series its name. Characters may be stock; however, the pranks are anything but, and it's peppered with cow facts. Cornell’s goofy cartoon illustrations (especially the blasé cows) add giggles aplenty.

Fluffy, fast, fun reading for fans of Clueless McGee and the Wimpy Kid. (Fiction. 7-11)