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WHAT GEORGE FORGOT

Name: WHAT GEORGE FORGOT
Author: Kathy Wolff
ISBN: 978-1-61963-871-6

by Kathy Wolff ; illustrated by Richard Byrne ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 4, 2017

A clever way to usher kids to the bus with a smile.

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George is about to dash out the door to school. But what has he forgotten?

George is a small white tot with a mop of brown hair and a button nose, and he never forgets anything. Except for…all the times that he does. He’s standing at the front door in consternation. He knows that he has forgotten something, he’s just not quite sure what. He replays the morning in his mind to figure it out. Has he remembered to wake up? Yes. Has he remembered to eat breakfast? Yes. (He even remembered to stick his toast to his sister’s face with yogurt so she had whiskers.) Has he remembered to put on his yellow-and-red dotted underpants? Yes. He just can’t figure it out. Suddenly it hits him. He has forgotten his shoes! Confident and happy, he runs to the bus. As the point of view pans out, giggly readers will realize he has forgotten something even more important than shoes. Good thing his sister’s on the ball. George’s morning routine is haphazard and silly, full of important duties such as racing a slinky down the stairs and finding four and a half things to fit into the hole where his tooth used to be.

A clever way to usher kids to the bus with a smile. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: July 4, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-61963-871-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: April 25, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
ALL WE NEED
by Kathy Wolff ; illustrated by Margaux Meganck

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THERE'S A ROCK CONCERT IN MY BEDROOM

by Kevin Jonas & Danielle Jonas ; illustrated by Courtney Dawson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2022

Nice enough but not worth repeat reads.

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Emma deals with jitters before playing the guitar in the school talent show.

Pop musician Kevin Jonas and his wife, Danielle, put performance at the center of their picture-book debut. When Emma is intimidated by her very talented friends, the encouragement of her younger sister, Bella, and the support of her family help her to shine her own light. The story is straightforward and the moral familiar: Draw strength from your family and within to overcome your fears. Employing the performance-anxiety trope that’s been written many times over, the book plods along predictably—there’s nothing really new or surprising here. Dawson’s full-color digital illustrations center a White-presenting family along with Emma’s three friends of color: Jamila has tanned skin and wears a hijab; Wendy has dark brown skin and Afro puffs; and Luis has medium brown skin. Emma’s expressive eyes and face are the real draw of the artwork—from worry to embarrassment to joy, it’s clear what she’s feeling. A standout double-page spread depicts Emma’s talent show performance, with a rainbow swirl of music erupting from an amp and Emma rocking a glam outfit and electric guitar. Overall, the book reads pretty plainly, buoyed largely by the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Nice enough but not worth repeat reads. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: March 29, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-593-35207-6

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin

Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

- BOOK REVIEW
THERE'S A BEACH IN MY BEDROOM
by Kevin Jonas & Danielle Jonas ; illustrated by Courtney Dawson

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YOUR BABY'S FIRST WORD WILL BE DADA

by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.

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A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.

A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.

Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)