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I AM A TORNADO

Name: I AM A TORNADO
Author: Drew Beckmeyer
ISBN: 9781665916745

by Drew Beckmeyer ; illustrated by Drew Beckmeyer ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 9, 2023

An endearing portrayal of an emotional meltdown told with humor and compassion.

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When a tornado comes rampaging through the countryside, snatching up farmyard animals and threatening further mayhem, a cow caught up in its winds gently questions why it’s so upset.

A horse? A sheep? A house that may have people in it? Doesn’t matter: This tornado’s gonna toss ’em! But a cow wants to know why. Despite repeated denials that the tornado's anything but a massive column of violent, spiraling air, the persistent, supportive cow wheedles its way past its gruff exterior. The tornado’s large, expressive eyes and actions betray the true feelings behind its blustering, though even it may not know why it’s so upset. Colorful illustrations reminiscent of paper cutouts further create a dynamic, cartoonish impression that adds humor without downplaying the tornado’s reckless destruction. A couple of diagrams show how tornadoes form and operate but seem almost randomly inserted, briefly distracting from the analogy of a caregiver helping a small child coping with big emotions. The tornado’s big feelings and actions, delivered in short bursts of text, will initially amuse and draw children in. By contrast, the cow’s calm nature and sympathy slowly develop through longer sentences before the story delivers its moral in the quiet of a breezy dusk. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An endearing portrayal of an emotional meltdown told with humor and compassion. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: May 9, 2023

ISBN: 9781665916745

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL
by Drew Beckmeyer ; illustrated by Drew Beckmeyer

- BOOK REVIEW
DEAR WILD CHILD
by Wallace J. Nichols & Wallace Grayce Nichols ; illustrated by Drew Beckmeyer

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LONG ISLAND
by Drew Beckmeyer ; illustrated by Drew Beckmeyer

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LOVE FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 15, 2015

Safe to creep on by.

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Carle’s famous caterpillar expresses its love.

In three sentences that stretch out over most of the book’s 32 pages, the (here, at least) not-so-ravenous larva first describes the object of its love, then describes how that loved one makes it feel before concluding, “That’s why… / I[heart]U.” There is little original in either visual or textual content, much of it mined from The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “You are… / …so sweet,” proclaims the caterpillar as it crawls through the hole it’s munched in a strawberry; “…the cherry on my cake,” it says as it perches on the familiar square of chocolate cake; “…the apple of my eye,” it announces as it emerges from an apple. Images familiar from other works join the smiling sun that shone down on the caterpillar as it delivers assurances that “you make… / …the sun shine brighter / …the stars sparkle,” and so on. The book is small, only 7 inches high and 5 ¾ inches across when closed—probably not coincidentally about the size of a greeting card. While generations of children have grown up with the ravenous caterpillar, this collection of Carle imagery and platitudinous sentiment has little of his classic’s charm. The melding of Carle’s caterpillar with Robert Indiana’s iconic LOVE on the book’s cover, alas, draws further attention to its derivative nature.

Safe to creep on by. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-448-48932-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?
edited by Eric Carle

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE BUG?
edited by Eric Carle

- BOOK REVIEW
MY FIRST I SEE YOU
by Eric Carle ; illustrated by Eric Carle

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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)