bookshelf

KINDERGARTEN IS COOL!

Name: KINDERGARTEN IS COOL!
Author: Linda E. Marshall
ISBN: 978-0-545-65266-7

by Linda E. Marshall ; illustrated by Chris Chatterton ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 28, 2016

A rollicking reassurance that school will be fun

bookshelf

Rhyming verses show those new to school just how cool kindergarten will be.

“When you wake up for school / You’ll get dressed really cool. / With your sneakers and socks / And your lunch in a box… / Kindergarten’s begun. / Big kids say that it’s fun. / But is that really true? / Will it be fun…for you?” Both sequencing and the assured second-person address experience some bumps. Though the verses do talk about getting a ride (in a car driven by mom in the illustration), walking (with dad and a dog), or taking the bus, they begin by saying that “you wave bye to home. / Then you’re off—on your own!” Similarly, not every child will be sporting sneakers with socks on the first day or packing lunchboxes. But the generic kindergarten classroom is spot-on, with blocks and places to hang stuff, things to explore, and pretend play props. And certainly almost every kindergartener will be singing the ABCs, counting, hearing stories read aloud, playing outside at recess (if the weather’s nice), and making new friends. And the verdict at the end of the day? “It really is cool!” Chatterton’s seemingly digital illustrations portray a diverse group of kids, including one wearing glasses, though this class is very small—only seven kids.

A rollicking reassurance that school will be fun . (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 28, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-545-65266-7

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

bookshelf

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...

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

bookshelf

A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)