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RED BERRY WOOL

Name: RED BERRY WOOL
Author: Robyn Eversole
ISBN: 0-8075-0654-0

by Robyn Eversole ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1999

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A simple, sweet story about care, friendship, and literal-mindedness. A boy watches a flock of sheep on a farm with the red barns and checkerboard fields of long ago. Lalo, the very smartest lamb, loves the boy’s berry-red wool sweater, which Lalo’s mother says comes from their very own wool. Lalo wants his wool to look like that, and his mother tells him the steps for making a sweater, which Lalo memorizes: “Wash the wool. Spin it. Dye the wool. Knit it.” Lalo tries to wash his wool in the pond, spins himself over a slope, tries to dye the wool by rolling in the berries far from home, and ends up thorn-covered and bitten by a snake. The boy always rescues Lalo, and when Lalo’s mother tells him that “Knit means to bring things together,” the smart lamb settles down next to the boy for storytelling and sunset-watching. The bright, clear acrylics of Coffey’s debut are wonderfully textured, while the images are full of pattern and sunlight, as homespun and decorative as a well-loved quilt. Funny, touching, and evocative. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-8075-0654-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Whitman

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

- BOOK REVIEW
EAST DRAGON, WEST DRAGON
by Robyn Eversole illustrated by Scott Campbell

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FLUTE PLAYER/LA FLAUTISTA
by Robyn Eversole & illustrated by G. Brian Karas

- BOOK REVIEW
FLOOD FISH
by Robyn Eversole & illustrated by Sheldon Greenberg

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QUACK AND COUNT

by Keith Baker & illustrated by Keith Baker ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1999

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Baker (Big Fat Hen, 1994, etc.) engages in more number play, posing ducklings in every combination of groups, e.g., “Splashing as they leap and dive/7 ducklings, 2 plus 5.” Using a great array of streaked and dappled papers, Baker creates a series of leafy collage scenes for the noisy, exuberant ducklings to fill, tucking in an occasional ladybug or other small creature for sharp-eyed pre-readers to spot. Children will regretfully wave goodbye as the ducks fly off in neat formation at the end of this brief, painless introduction to several basic math concepts. (Picture book. 4-6)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-15-292858-8

Page Count: 24

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
LMNO PEA-QUEL
by Keith Baker ; illustrated by Keith Baker

- BOOK REVIEW
HAP-PEA ALL YEAR
by Keith Baker ; illustrated by Keith Baker

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE GREEN PEAS
by Keith Baker ; illustrated by Keith Baker

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BIG BROWN BEAR

by David McPhail & illustrated by David McPhail ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1999

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Big Brown Bear, with a natty bowler hat, is all set to paint the house in this cheerful Level 1 reader. Every page presents a full-color scene and a few words of easily predicted, often rhyming text: “Bear is big. Bear is brown. Bear goes up. He comes down.” Big Bear climbs a ladder with a pail of blue paint, while nearby, Little Bear plays with a ball and bat—“Oh no! Little Bear! Do not do that!” These are simple words, but sometimes challenging ones, e.g., there are two uses of up, as in climbing the ladder and washing up. The pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations provide nearly ideal context, while also amplifying the story. The format is attractive and practical, featuring large type on a white background that is placed for easy reading. Beginning readers will be amused by the gentle humor in the book, and feel accomplished to have tackled it themselves. (Picture book. 5-7)