by Marianna Coppo ; illustrated by Marianna Coppo ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 14, 2023
Silly what-if questions arranged into a light but visually appealing bedtime story.
Fish’s fretting keeps roommate Crab up at night.
Crab and Fish live together in their cozy aquarium home. Crab is happy to sleep, turning off the light (resulting in a desaturated overlay) only for Fish, unable to sleep because of worries, to pipe up. Fish’s concerns range from the relatable (strange noises, unexpected animals, and contagious illness) to the outlandish (alien abduction, oversleeping into the future, and winding up in a parallel universe); the book even takes a dip into metafiction with the characters staring at readers as Fish asks, “WHAT IF WE ARE CHARACTERS IN A BOOK?” Finally, having voiced their anxieties, Fish relaxes and falls asleep, though these worries now keep Crab awake. This tale is told through minimalistic text, primarily dialogue. Things said by anyone other than the titular characters (including the narrator) are in italics, things said by Fish are in a regular font, and words spoken by Crab are in bold. While the story, especially the twist at the end, isn’t terribly unexpected, the predictability that will inhibit rereadability for some will reassure others. The art is lineless, with colorful (excepting the lights-off pages) shapes, as simple as the clean, sans-serif font, resulting in a cohesive feel (though some stark-white backgrounds undermine the nighttime premise). (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Silly what-if questions arranged into a light but visually appealing bedtime story. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-79720-443-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2022
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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...
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
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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings
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by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
by Christina Geist ; illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2022
Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient.
How do you make a new friend when an old one moves away?
Buddy (from Sorry, Grown-Ups, You Can’t Go to School, 2019, etc.) is feeling lonely. His best friend just moved across town. To make matters worse, there is a field trip coming up, and Buddy needs a bus partner. His sister, Lady, has some helpful advice for making a new pal: “You just need to find something you have in common.” Buddy loves the game Robo Chargers and karate. Surely there is someone else who does, too! Unfortunately, there isn’t. However, when a new student arrives (one day later) and asks everyone to call her Sunny instead of Alison, Buddy gets excited. No one uses his given name, either; they just call him Buddy. He secretly whispers his “real, official name” to Sunny at lunch—an indication that a true friendship is being formed. The rest of the story plods merrily along, all pieces falling exactly into place (she even likes Robo Chargers!), accompanied by Bowers’ digital art, a mix of spot art and full-bleed illustrations. Friendship-building can be an emotionally charged event in a child’s life—young readers will certainly see themselves in Buddy’s plight—but, alas, there is not much storytelling magic to be found. Buddy and his family are White, Sunny and Mr. Teacher are Black, and Buddy’s other classmates are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-30709-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
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by Christina Geist ; illustrated by Tim Bowers
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by Christina Geist ; illustrated by Tim Bowers
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