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A DAY AT ABBOTT ELEMENTARY

Name: A DAY AT ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
Author: Halcyon Person
ISBN: 9781546148104

by Halcyon Person ; illustrated by Joelle Murray ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 4, 2025

A fun novelty book for adult fans of the show but unlikely to appeal to newcomers.

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TV’s Abbott Elementary provides the setting for this original story.

After discovering an acorn avalanche in her classroom, Miss Teagues realizes there’s a squirrel somewhere in the school. Now she and the other teachers have two tasks: tracking down the rodent and fixing the huge crack in the wall that’s spreading due to the acorn stash. The characters behave exactly as fans of the show would expect them to; Mr. Eddie shrieks in fear, Melissa tries to lure the squirrel out with a hoagie, and Ava plays ’90s hip-hop in the hopes that it’ll entice the creature. Readers unfamiliar with the series may enjoy the antics, but they’ll have very little context for the characters’ behaviors. The book also alternates between using characters’ first names and their honorifics and last names (for instance, the protagonist is referred to both as Miss Teagues and Janine), which may be confusing. The illustrations are vibrant, and care was clearly taken to depict the show in this new format. The school itself is identical to how it appears on TV; it even includes an effective rendering of the front of the building’s iconic mural. The character designs are accurate, incorporating instantly recognizable outfits from the series. As in the show, the cast is predominantly Black.

A fun novelty book for adult fans of the show but unlikely to appeal to newcomers. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 4, 2025

ISBN: 9781546148104

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
DADDY AND ME AND THE RHYME TO BE
by Halcyon Person & Chris Bridges ; illustrated by Parker-Nia Gordon

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THE WORLD NEEDS THE WONDER YOU SEE

by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 28, 2025

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children.

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Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations.

There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young friends—including one who uses a wheelchair—are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.”

Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2025

ISBN: 9781400247417

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Tommy Nelson

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WORLD NEEDS WHO YOU WERE MADE TO BE
by Joanna Gaines ; illustrated by Julianna Swaney

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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)