by Holly Keller & illustrated by Holly Keller ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 19, 1991
Relations with his fellow kindergartners go from bad to worse after mouse Milton's unfortunate opening gambit: he sticks out his tongue. Repeated rejections lead to new pranks until a classmate's forthright judgment (``You're BAD'') causes a sudden turnaround and Milton becomes obnoxiously good. By the time the next new little animal joins the class, Milton has settled down; now it's Stanley's turn to be pronounced ``weird.'' It's not that simple in real life; still, Milton's troubles are all too familiar, and their easy, mildly humorous resolution may suggest some healthy behavior modification to children similarly afflicted. Keller's expressive, simply drawn illustrations lend additional appeal. Schwartz's Camper of the Week (below) provides a subtler, more perceptive treatment of similar themes. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 19, 1991
ISBN: 0-688-09827-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1991
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by Holly Keller & illustrated by Holly Keller
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by Holly Keller & illustrated by Holly Keller
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by Holly Keller & illustrated by Holly Keller
by Antoinette Portis & illustrated by Antoinette Portis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 2006
Dedicated “to children everywhere sitting in cardboard boxes,” this elemental debut depicts a bunny with big, looping ears demonstrating to a rather thick, unseen questioner (“Are you still standing around in that box?”) that what might look like an ordinary carton is actually a race car, a mountain, a burning building, a spaceship or anything else the imagination might dream up. Portis pairs each question and increasingly emphatic response with a playscape of Crockett Johnson–style simplicity, digitally drawn with single red and black lines against generally pale color fields. Appropriately bound in brown paper, this makes its profound point more directly than such like-themed tales as Marisabina Russo’s Big Brown Box (2000) or Dana Kessimakis Smith’s Brave Spaceboy (2005). (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-06-112322-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2006
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by Kobi Yamada ; illustrated by Natalie Russell ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2017
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
Awards & Accolades
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Google Rating
New York Times Bestseller
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
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by Kobi Yamada ; illustrated by Adelina Lirius
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by Kobi Yamada ; illustrated by Charles Santoso
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by Kobi Yamada ; illustrated by Elise Hurst
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