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THE DARING PRINCE DASHING

Name: THE DARING PRINCE DASHING
Author: Marilou T. Reeder
ISBN: 978-1-63450-161-3

by Marilou T. Reeder ; illustrated by Karl West ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 3, 2015

For those kids who find nasty sisters, cleaning, and losing a shoe to be too tame, this is a daredevil alternative.

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A daredevil prince meets his perfect Cinderella, and they begin a “most adventurous friendship.”

Bathing in the crocodile-filled moat and toasting marshmallows by dragon’s breath are par for the course for Prince Dashing. At the royal ice cream social, he meets a blonde who can keep up with his crazy antics—playing “Für Elise” with her toes while doing a backbend while the prince roller-blades across the top of the piano. But at the stroke of bedtime, she is gone, leaving behind only her pogo stick, which the prince calls a “stick-thingy.” The girl who can make the right sound with the stick—ZING-BOING!—will be the honored guest at the prince’s birthday party. But of course, the prince can’t do things the easy way; he will search for “Stickerella” blindfolded, which makes for lots of humorous mishaps and near misses. West’s brightly colored vignette and double-page-spread illustrations are full of funny details, especially the scenes in the zoo. Nicely, this fairy-tale heroine isn’t in need of saving—there’s no stepmother and no forced labor, though she does clean her own home.

For those kids who find nasty sisters, cleaning, and losing a shoe to be too tame, this is a daredevil alternative. (Fractured fairy tale. 4-7)

Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-63450-161-3

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sky Pony Press

Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2015

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
WILLOW THE ARMADILLO
by Marilou T. Reeder ; illustrated by Dave Mottram

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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...

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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

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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.

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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)