Small children who love to wear pink and plié around the house will find this an agreeable read.
A little balletomane performs a duet with her bear.
The ballet-loving little girl who danced her way through the school day in her debut, Ruby Rose: Off to School She Goes (2016), returns for more of the same. Sitting at the breakfast table with her cooking dad, baby brother, dog, and beloved bear, she announces that there will be a dance recital. Donning her pink butterfly costume, Ruby Rose begins her preparations. A rainstorm is barely a deterrent to her poster-making, ticket distribution, costume and stage design, and warm-ups. (Ruby’s first ticket-delivery system is floating helium balloons; when they pop in the tree outside her bedroom, she diligently cleans up the remains.) Unfortunately, the storm threatens to keep the audience from attending, but soon the seats in the living room are filled, and Ruby and the bear, named Bearishnikov, dance a duet to loud cheers. Ruby and her family are white, and the small audience has a few persons of color. The digital illustrations range from full-page to spot art, with features depicted through dots for eyes and simple lines for mouths and noses. Grandparents sharing this title will know for whom the bear is named—Mikhail Baryshnikov—but this detail will likely soar over the target audience’s heads.
Small children who love to wear pink and plié around the house will find this an agreeable read. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-223571-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
Still, preschoolers will likely savor this mouthwatering treatment of a subject that looms large in many early school...
The familiar theme of the challenges facing a new kid in town is given an original treatment by photographer Border in this book of photos of three-dimensional objects in a simple modeled landscape.
Peanut Butter is represented by a slice of white bread spread with the popular condiment. The other characters in the story—a hamburger with a pair of hot dogs in tow, a bowl of alphabet soup, a meatball jumping a rope of spaghetti, a carton of French fries and a pink cupcake—are represented by skillfully crafted models of these foods, anthropomorphized using simple wire construction. Rejected by each character in turn in his search for playmates, Peanut Butter discovers in the end that Jelly is his true match (not Cupcake, as the title suggests), perhaps because she is the only one who looks like him, being a slice of white bread spread with jelly. The friendly foods end up happily playing soccer together. Some parents may have trouble with the unabashedly happy depiction of carbs and American junk food (no carrots or celery sticks in this landscape), and others may find themselves troubled by the implication that friendship across difference is impossible.
Still, preschoolers will likely savor this mouthwatering treatment of a subject that looms large in many early school experiences. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16773-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.
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)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780593702901
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
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