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TROLL STINKS

Name: TROLL STINKS
Author: Jeanne Willis
ISBN: 978-1-5124-3948-9

by Jeanne Willis ; illustrated by Tony Ross ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2017

Let’s be honest. The goats are the stinkers.

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Two kids—as in young goats—prove just why that creature has a tough reputation.

Little Billy finds a cellphone in a field, “like the one the farmer lost”; said farmer is scouring the tall grass a few feet away. Billy “kept it for his own.” Strike one. Hiding it from his folks, he teams up with his friend Cyril and, after a little minor mischief, Billy suggests “Let’s make a funny call!” Billy’s brother gets a burp; Cyril’s sister gets a “whooping like a big baboon.” OK, they are on thin ice but still dry. Then they discover Troll’s number in the contacts. “Oh, what a laugh, yippee!” Since they are afraid of Troll, they text. “Get off the bridge! You stink!” Whoa! Strike two. Still laughing, Billy says, “I bet Troll’s got an ugly mug— / let’s take its photograph!” So now a little B & E into Troll’s cave. Strike three. There they find a baby troll, crying as a result of the prank calls (illegal in most states, considered harassment, stalking, or bullying: strike four). The kids apologize, though even Ross’ soft colors and easy linework fail to convey much remorse when they “hung their heads in shame.” Then they all make friends. Forgiveness is a beautiful quality, yes. But the kids are more delinquents than pranksters, and with “friends” like them....

Let’s be honest. The goats are the stinkers. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: April 1, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-5124-3948-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Andersen Press USA

Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT ARE LITTLE GIRLS MADE OF?
by Jeanne Willis ; illustrated by Isabelle Follath

- BOOK REVIEW
OLD MACDONALD HAD A PHONE
by Jeanne Willis ; illustrated by Tony Ross

- BOOK REVIEW
DON'T GO THERE!
by Jeanne Willis ; illustrated by Hrefna Bragadottir

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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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GRUMPY MONKEY

by Suzanne Lang ; illustrated by Max Lang ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 15, 2018

Though Jim may have been grumpy because a chimp’s an ape and not a monkey, readers will enjoy and maybe learn from his...

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It’s a wonderful day in the jungle, so why’s Jim Panzee so grumpy?

When Jim woke up, nothing was right: "The sun was too bright, the sky was too blue, and bananas were too sweet." Norman the gorilla asks Jim why he’s so grumpy, and Jim insists he’s not. They meet Marabou, to whom Norman confides that Jim’s grumpy. When Jim denies it again, Marabou points out that Jim’s shoulders are hunched; Jim stands up. When they meet Lemur, Lemur points out Jim’s bunchy eyebrows; Jim unbunches them. When he trips over Snake, Snake points out Jim’s frown…so Jim puts on a grimacelike smile. Everyone has suggestions to brighten his mood: dancing, singing, swinging, swimming…but Jim doesn’t feel like any of that. He gets so fed up, he yells at his animal friends and stomps off…then he feels sad about yelling. He and Norman (who regrets dancing with that porcupine) finally just have a sit and decide it’s a wonderful day to be grumpy—which, of course, makes them both feel a little better. Suzanne Lang’s encouragement to sit with your emotions (thus allowing them to pass) is nearly Buddhist in its take, and it will be great bibliotherapy for the crabby, cranky, and cross. Oscar-nominated animator Max Lang’s cartoony illustrations lighten the mood without making light of Jim’s mood; Jim has comically long arms, and his facial expressions are quite funny.

Though Jim may have been grumpy because a chimp’s an ape and not a monkey, readers will enjoy and maybe learn from his journey. (Picture book. 4-8)