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SUNRISE SUMMER

Name: SUNRISE SUMMER
Author: Matthew Swanson
ISBN: 978-1-250-08058-5

by Matthew Swanson ; illustrated by Robbi Behr ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 20, 2021

An informative first-person story that combines family history with STEM concepts for a summer to remember.

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Summer has arrived and, with it, an annual—and unusual—family trip.

Four siblings and their parents travel 4,000 miles to arrive in Alaska. The young pale-skinned, brown-haired narrator is excited to finally be part of the fishing crew this summer. Before dawn, outfitted in rubber waders, special gloves, and warm wool hats, the crew goes out to stack nets and attach them to a raft headed out into the waves in the dark, cold morning. But the young protagonist isn’t strong enough to do it alone; luckily the crew is there to work together just as the sun comes up. Soon there are fish in the nets, and they have a catch for the day. Paired with ebullient first-person prose, the illustrations immerse readers in the changing colors of the sky and waves throughout the thrilling event. Extensive backmatter explains that illustrator Behr and author Swanson are actually the mom and dad in the story, and their children are the kids. Behr’s parents bought land in a place called Coffee Point and learned to fish the waters in search of adventure and family togetherness. The backmatter also includes information about Native peoples in the area and their traditional practices of fishing and living off the land.

An informative first-person story that combines family history with STEM concepts for a summer to remember. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: April 20, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-250-08058-5

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Imprint

Review Posted Online: April 11, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
BEN YOKOYAMA AND THE COOKIE OF PERFECTION
by Matthew Swanson ; illustrated by Robbi Behr

- BOOK REVIEW
BEN YOKOYAMA AND THE COOKIE OF DOOM
by Matthew Swanson ; illustrated by Robbi Behr

- BOOK REVIEW
BEN YOKOYAMA AND THE COOKIE OF ENDLESS WAITING
by Matthew Swanson ; illustrated by Robbi Behr

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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)