A lively easy reader in which the author takes a page from Letterman’s stupid pet tricks and the illustrator captures the hilarity. Shawn has four whole days before show-and-tell to teach a few tricks to Keeper, his red retriever-like shaggy dog. Why not give it a try? After all, the two are the best of friends, the kind of friends who “walked together and talked together” and “growled together and howled together.” Training ensues, with Shawn growing from hesitant to well nigh dictatorial and Keeper's confusion melting into a satisfied grin in Williams-Andriani’s squiggly inset illustrations. Shawn always says, “Good boy!” and gives Keeper cookies. Then comes Friday, pet-trick presentation day. After “Leah sang to her mouse” (not exactly a pet trick), and some other performances, it’s Shawn and Keeper’s turn, and the dog blows it, forgetting everything except “Fetch!” His happy chase after the spotted ball decimates the classroom in a series of vignettes that culminate in full-scale disaster. The background damage is depicted in gentle pastels, enabling the reader’s attention to remain on Shawn and Keeper. Careful observation reveals, however, that the fish in the upset tank are horrified, as is the mouse. It’s obvious Shawn must change his training tactics, and he does. “ ‘Bad boy!’ ” he says. “ ‘But I still love you.’ And he gave Keeper a cookie.” After all, “they were the best of friends.” (Fiction. 4-7)
Pub Date: July 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-525-46114-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
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
The can’t-miss subject of this Step into Reading series entry—a unicorn with a magic horn who also longs for wings—trumps its text, which is dry even by easy-reader standards. A boy unicorn, whose horn has healing powers, reveals his wish to a butterfly in a castle garden, a bluebird in the forest and a snowy white swan in a pond. Falling asleep at the edge of the sea, the unicorn is visited by a winged white mare. He heals her broken wing and she flies away. After sadly invoking his wish once more, he sees his reflection: “He had big white wings!” He flies off after the mare, because he “wanted to say, ‘Thank you.’ ” Perfectly suiting this confection, Silin-Palmer’s pictures teem with the mass market–fueled iconography of what little girls are (ostensibly) made of: rainbows, flowers, twinkly stars and, of course, manes down to there. (Easy reader. 4-7)
Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2006
ISBN: 0-375-83117-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
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