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LITTLE TRACTOR LEARNS HOW TO SHARE

Name: LITTLE TRACTOR LEARNS HOW TO SHARE
Author: Natalie Quintart
ISBN: 9798890630056

From the Little Tractor series , Vol. 5

by Natalie Quintart ; illustrated by Philippe Goossens ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 23, 2024

Make room in the barnyard—and on the shelf—for this one!

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A bright red tractor learns to share.

Little Tractor lives on a farm with plenty of pals. Spring is on its way, and he’s happy, at least until a pair of swallows build a nest in his barn. They require an open window to fly in and out of in order to gather food and nest materials, but that leaves Little Tractor cold and wet during a heavy rain—and he soon finds himself spattered with bird poop. When the farm animals come to visit the baby birds, Little Tractor “feels crowded out of his own barn.” Life with the swallows is noisy, messy, and distressingly different. Irritated, he yells at them, and one of the startled babies falls…and, luckily, spreads her wings and flies. Later, Little Tractor befriends the baby swallow, named Adele. Little Tractor is finally happy to share his barn with the swallow family; when the farm animals work together to scrub Little Tractor’s hood until it shines, “His heart fills with the love for his friends, new and old.” Originally published in Belgium and the Netherlands, this simple, slightly old-fashioned tale quietly captures the trials of sharing space and models the healing value of friendship. Minor tweaks to his eyes and mouth convey Little Tractor’s annoyance, surprise, and delight. Little Tractor is the centerpiece of the illustrations, set against detailed but uncluttered backgrounds, making this book a good storytime read.

Make room in the barnyard—and on the shelf—for this one! (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: July 23, 2024

ISBN: 9798890630056

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clavis

Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE TRACTOR WANTS TO FLY
by Natalie Quintart ; illustrated by Philippe Goossens

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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)