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YOU CAN DO IT, BERT!

Name: YOU CAN DO IT, BERT!
Author: Ole Könnecke
ISBN: 978-1-927271-03-2

by Ole Könnecke ; illustrated by Ole Könnecke ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2015

A winning example of less is more.

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Can Bert do it? Can he take the plunge off the branch and launch himself into the yonder?

In this sweet-toned, encouraging, minimalist picture book for young listeners, Könnecke has set up a simple tableau for all but the last few pages. Page right: a few leaves, a hint of a nest and a branch, along which Bert, a little (except for his beak) red bird, troops back and forth. Page left: a great, white expanse, void except for a doodley cloud or two. Bert walks to the end of the branch. He fluffs his feathers. He walks back, then returns with a banana. He eats the banana and peers over the end of the branch. “Come on, Bert,” urges the text. Bert waffles. “Bert? / BERT!” Bert launches himself into the ether, covering his eyes with a wing, which makes flying problematical. (“Help,” he says in tiny letters as gravity takes hold.) But—ha!—surprise: Bert’s jumping into a swimming hole. Pretty tricky, pretty clever even. Bert’s three pals in the water cheer for Bert: “When Bert says he’ll do something, he does it.” Not a bad message, either, with a delivery as light as a feather.

A winning example of less is more. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: March 1, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-927271-03-2

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Gecko Press

Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
SOUNDS GOOD!
by Ole Könnecke & Hans Könnecke ; translated by Melody Shaw ; illustrated by Ole Könnecke

- BOOK REVIEW
DULCINEA IN THE FORBIDDEN FOREST
by Ole Könnecke ; illustrated by Ole Könnecke ; translated by Shelley Tanaka

- BOOK REVIEW
SPORTS ARE FANTASTIC FUN!
by Ole Könnecke ; illustrated by Ole Könnecke

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LITTLE RED SLEIGH

by Erin Guendelsberger ; illustrated by Elizaveta Tretyakova ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2020

Sadly, the storytelling runs aground.

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A little red sleigh has big Christmas dreams.

Although the detailed, full-color art doesn’t anthropomorphize the protagonist (which readers will likely identify as a sled and not a sleigh), a close third-person text affords the object thoughts and feelings while assigning feminine pronouns. “She longed to become Santa’s big red sleigh,” reads an early line establishing the sleigh’s motivation to leave her Christmas-shop home for the North Pole. Other toys discourage her, but she perseveres despite creeping self-doubt. A train and truck help the sleigh along, and when she wishes she were big, fast, and powerful like them, they offer encouragement and counsel patience. When a storm descends after the sleigh strikes out on her own, an unnamed girl playing in the snow brings her to a group of children who all take turns riding the sleigh down a hill. When the girl brings her home, the sleigh is crestfallen she didn’t reach the North Pole. A convoluted happily-ever-after ending shows a note from Santa that thanks the sleigh for giving children joy and invites her to the North Pole next year. “At last she understood what she was meant to do. She would build her life up spreading joy, one child at a time.” Will she leave the girl’s house to be gifted to other children? Will she stay and somehow also reach ever more children? Readers will be left wondering. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 31.8% of actual size.)

Sadly, the storytelling runs aground. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-72822-355-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland

Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE ORANGE PUMPKIN
by Erin Guendelsberger ; illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE PURPLE TRACTOR
by Erin Guendelsberger ; illustrated by Annelouise Mahoney

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE YELLOW BUS
by Erin Guendelsberger ; illustrated by Suzie Mason

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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)