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BE GLAD YOUR DAD...(IS NOT AN OCTOPUS!)

Name: BE GLAD YOUR DAD...(IS NOT AN OCTOPUS!)
Author: Matthew Logelin
ISBN: 978-0-316-25438-0

by Matthew Logelin & Sara Jensen ; illustrated by Jared Chapman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 3, 2016

This tries too hard to be funny…and misses.

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A pair of siblings explores the reasons why a dad of another species would be way worse than the dad they have now.

Even though their dad is sometimes grumpy and gross, at least he doesn’t leave balls of poop in their rooms as a dung-beetle dad might. And they should be glad he’s not a snake who might shed his skin in front of all their friends—that would be embarrassing. Saying “Boo!” to a skunk dad might result in some major stink, and an owl dad would keep them awake all night. Readers will get the idea after the first few spreads, but the shtick covers 16 animals. Chapman’s illustrations are done on vibrantly colored backgrounds, the characters and animals in full color, while props and extra details are only outlined in black. The typography gets in on the act: “Be glad your dad is not a TORTOISE, because e v e r y t h i n g w o u l d t a k e f o r e v e r.” Like the words, a trail of melted ice cream stretches across the spread from the cone dad has scooped his child. While the characters’ faces express emotion, readers may be distracted by their noses, which are piglike and oddly dark against their otherwise fair skin. Three final pages tell “More about the animals in this book,” but these facts vary widely in the quality of the information they impart (it’s never explained why a quail dad would be boring, for instance).

This tries too hard to be funny…and misses. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: May 3, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-316-25438-0

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2025

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.

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In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.

Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 25, 2025

ISBN: 9780063387843

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

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Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.

If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)