A sweet and engaging story that may need a little work to find readers who are ready for it.
Rafi the irrepressible tree frog is back with his younger, plucky sister, Rosi, in three new adventures that all center on Puerto Rico’s El Morro fort, each short chapter featuring an element of this National Historic Site.
First, Rafi re-creates Cofresí’s battles on top of the fort’s pile of cannonballs when he discovers he’s related to the Robin Hood–like pirate. After lunch, the siblings decide to jimmy a loose brick with a stick in the fort’s kitchen. They find Spanish coins and are very excited until they realize they can’t keep them. However, Rosi asks the fort museum’s historian and is given permission to make rubbings to keep as mementos. Later that same afternoon, a “haunted” sentry box at the fort provides an opportunity for a game of hide-and-seek with a surprise ending. Publishing simultaneously in separate Spanish and English editions, the story is the same in both. However the vocabulary in the former is far more advanced than in the latter, and the glossary doesn’t address many of the potentially unfamiliar words, such as “desperdigaron” and “desparramadas.” Contrary to the “Early Fluent” designation, the Spanish edition of this early reader may prove to be a challenge for many children below the second grade. Also, the glossary in the English edition inexplicably provides anglicized phonetics for a well-known word: gracias. Instead of the common two-syllable pronunciation, the diphthong is ignored in favor of a three-syllable pronunciation, “GRAH-see-ahs.” Both editions include historical notes and activities that will be welcomed in most classrooms.
A sweet and engaging story that may need a little work to find readers who are ready for it. (Early reader. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-89239-383-1
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look...
Winning actually isn’t everything, as jazz-happy Rooster learns when he goes up against the legendary likes of Mules Davis and Ella Finchgerald at the barnyard talent show.
Having put together a band with renowned cousin Duck Ellington and singer “Bee” Holiday, Rooster’s chances sure look good—particularly after his “ ‘Hen from Ipanema’ [makes] / the barnyard chickies swoon.”—but in the end the competition is just too stiff. No matter: A compliment from cool Mules and the conviction that he still has the world’s best band soon puts the strut back in his stride. Alexander’s versifying isn’t always in tune (“So, he went to see his cousin, / a pianist of great fame…”), and despite his moniker Rooster plays an electric bass in Bower’s canted country scenes. Children are unlikely to get most of the jokes liberally sprinkled through the text, of course, so the adults sharing it with them should be ready to consult the backmatter, which consists of closing notes on jazz’s instruments, history and best-known musicians.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58536-688-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure.
It’s not truffles but doubloons that tickle this porcine wayfarer’s fancy.
Funke and Meyer make another foray into chapter-book fare after Emma and the Blue Genie (2014). Here, mariner Stout Sam and deckhand Pip eke out a comfortable existence on Butterfly Island ferrying cargo to and fro. Life is good, but it takes an unexpected turn when a barrel washes ashore containing a pig with a skull-and-crossbones pendant around her neck. It soon becomes clear that this little piggy, dubbed Julie, has the ability to sniff out treasure—lots of it—in the sea. The duo is pleased with her skills, but pride goeth before the hog. Stout Sam hands out some baubles to the local children, and his largess attracts the unwanted attention of Barracuda Bill and his nasty minions. Now they’ve pignapped Julie, and it’s up to the intrepid sailors to save the porker and their own bacon. The succinct word count meets the needs of kids looking for early adventure fare. The tale is slight, bouncy, and amusing, though Julie is never the piratical buccaneer the book’s cover seems to suggest. Meanwhile, Meyer’s cheery watercolors are as comfortable diagramming the different parts of a pirate vessel as they are rendering the dread pirate captain himself.
A nifty high-seas caper for chapter-book readers with a love of adventure and a yearning for treasure. (Adventure. 7-9)Pub Date: June 23, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-37544-3
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2015
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