A kind story about friendship in an appealing format.
Best animal friends are back in Feuti’s follow-up to Do You Like My Bike? (2019).
Harry the guinea pig is excited about going to Hedgehog’s house for a sleepover. He packs his pillow, toothbrush, and blanket but wisely decides to not bring along his goldfish or bowling ball. He’s not sure about Simon, his red teddy bear, asserting “I am too old for teddy bears.” Of course there’s no such thing as too old for teddy bears, and Simon ends up in his backpack. Harry’s anxiety gets the better of him in the next chapter, more than twice as long as the first, when he discovers that Hedgehog has set up a tent in the backyard. Harry makes up excuse after excuse, and empathetic Hedgehog realizes that maybe his friend would feel safer indoors, which is where the party moves to, and the story ends with a cheerful game of hide-and-seek. The innocence and sweetness of the first book in the series continues to be felt here, a gentle introduction to common fears children face. Bright and clear illustrations enhance the humor and care shared between the two, though slightly ineffective pacing and a bland closing chapter mar the flow. Children looking for early graphic novels as well as those ready to advance from Elephant & Piggie will enjoy this low-stakes drama.
A kind story about friendship in an appealing format. (Graphic early reader. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-28141-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Acorn/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies.
Pigeon finds something better to drive than some old bus.
This time it’s Santa delivering the fateful titular words, and with a “Ho. Ho. Whoa!” the badgering begins: “C’mon! Where’s your holiday spirit? It would be a Christmas MIRACLE! Don’t you want to be part of a Christmas miracle…?” Pigeon is determined: “I can do Santa stuff!” Like wrapping gifts (though the accompanying illustration shows a rather untidy present), delivering them (the image of Pigeon attempting to get an oversize sack down a chimney will have little ones giggling), and eating plenty of cookies. Alas, as Willems’ legion of young fans will gleefully predict, not even Pigeon’s by-now well-honed persuasive powers (“I CAN BE JOLLY!”) will budge the sleigh’s large and stinky reindeer guardian. “BAH. Also humbug.” In the typically minimalist art, the frustrated feathered one sports a floppily expressive green and red elf hat for this seasonal addition to the series—but then discards it at the end for, uh oh, a pair of bunny ears. What could Pigeon have in mind now? “Egg delivery, anyone?”
A stocking stuffer par excellence, just right for dishing up with milk and cookies. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9781454952770
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2023
While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...
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
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