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WHAT ABOUT MOOSE?

Name: WHAT ABOUT MOOSE?
Author: Corey Rosen Schwartz
ISBN: 978-1-4814-0496-9

by Corey Rosen Schwartz ; Rebecca J. Gomez ; illustrated by Keika Yamaguchi ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015

Gentle humor successfully communicates the importance of teamwork to young readers.

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Fox and friends have plans to build a treehouse, but bossy Moose keeps interfering

Cooperation is the keyword for Fox and her hardworking co-builders. Unfortunately, Moose thinks he is the most knowledgeable, and he is certainly the bossiest. With a megaphone, he shouts out orders but does not lend a hand. He criticizes, exhorts, advises, and then collapses from the sheer exhaustion of being in charge. Neither Skunk nor Porcupine nor Toad nor Fox measure up to his standards of Moose excellence. Then the walls are completed, and the roof is put in place—but where is Moose? Sharp-eyed readers will see what has happened: Moose is inside the newly completed treehouse and too big to exit through the door. The friends cleverly come to his rescue, and Moose happily learns his lesson. Schwartz and Gomez have crafted a pleasant tale in rhyming couplets about working together, pitching in, and planning ahead. The digitally rendered illustrations are colorful and full of activity as animals clad in work clothes tote tool boxes, measure, lift beams, nail, caulk, drill, and construct. The almost perfectly round Toad alone, clad in pink overalls and safety goggles, with a tiny yellow hard hat perched atop, is practically worth the price of admission.

Gentle humor successfully communicates the importance of teamwork to young readers. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 9, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4814-0496-9

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: March 2, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
COLD TURKEY
by Corey Rosen Schwartz & Kirsti Call ; illustrated by Chad Otis

- BOOK REVIEW
MOOTILDA'S BAD MOOD
by Corey Rosen Schwartz & Kirsti Call ; illustrated by Claudia Ranucci

- BOOK REVIEW
TWO TOUGH TRUCKS GET LOST!
by Corey Rosen Schwartz & Rebecca J. Gomez ; illustrated by Hilary Leung

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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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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)