Sam the sheepdog is back, but this time he’s on his own and it’s not exactly a mystery that’s his focus; it’s a monster. As usual, Labatt’s starting reader successfully draws its audience along with an enticing blend of image, word, humor, and action with which those young readers will readily identify. Sam spies a green monster on the television. When the monster leaves the screen, Sam goes searching for it throughout the house. He thinks he has cornered the monster in the kitchen closet—it’s really a big green plastic garbage bag—and he takes on the foe, worrying a foot of the bag until it rips off. Out spill remnants of cookies: “This monster came to eat my cookies!” Sam will not let such treachery go unavenged. He rips off the other foot/corner of the monster/garbage bag. Out spill shards of donut: “This monster came to eat my donuts!” Sam shakes the bag to shreds, revealing all manner of goodies the monster put into its capacious maw. Sam is one proud dog when his owners appear on the scene. Sam captures a kid’s thought process, tenacity, and pride of accomplishment—no matter what the outcome. And the young audience will love being in on the joke. (Easy reader. 5-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 2003
ISBN: 1-55337-351-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The lifecycle of the frog is succinctly summarized in this easy reader for children reading at the late first-grade level. In just one or two sentences per page, Vern details the amazing metamorphosis of the frog from egg to tadpole to adult, even injecting a little humor despite the tight word count. (“Watch out fly! Mmmm!) Large, full-color photographs on white backgrounds clearly illustrate each phase of development. Without any mention of laying eggs or fertilization, the title might be a bit misleading, but the development from black dot egg to full-grown frog is fascinating. A simple chart of the three main lifecycle steps is also included. Lifecycles are part of the standard curriculum in the early elementary grades, and this will be a welcome addition to school and public libraries, both for its informational value and as an easy reader. (Nonfiction/easy reader. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-15-216304-2
Page Count: 20
Publisher: Green Light/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2001
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