A sweet tale of boyhood friendship that will help young readers learn about making friends and being open to new people.
In Baker’s debut picture book, an imaginative boy has trouble fitting in until he meets an open-minded group of new friends.
Five boys spend their time hanging out at Pine Camp, where they build a fort out of “sticks, stones and wind chimes.” They reach the spot by bike and scooter, and once there, they like to spend time reading, snacking, and sharing ideas. One of the boys keeps his treasure buried in a box, which includes pine cones, weeds, and his stuffed lion toy. At a park near the camp, another young boy is playing—but he’s dressed as a lion and can’t seem to get the other kids in the park to play with him. Discouraged by the trouble he has making friends, he runs into the camp, where the boy who buried the treasure eventually finds him. He’s hiding behind a rock, afraid to be turned away from playmates once again. Though there are few words in the story, Baker makes them count, as she does in the boys’ encounter: “The boy with the lion toy stood eye to eye with the boy in the lion suit”—a powerful moment in which the two boys decide what to make of each other. The episode teaches young readers an important lesson: be open and understanding to each other so that, here, the five friends can become six. For readers just starting out, Baker helpfully repeats words (“lion suit,” “Pine Camp,” etc.) throughout the story. Meanwhile, the gorgeously rendered illustrations feature bright colors and small details, such as the lion-suited boy drawing a lion in the dirt. The illustrations also include more details than the text offers, including a map with “Queenie’s Grave,” which may provide more adventurous imagination fodder for readers captivated by the charming world of Pine Camp.
A sweet tale of boyhood friendship that will help young readers learn about making friends and being open to new people.Pub Date: March 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-1508922810
Page Count: 24
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 29, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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