ETTA EXTRAORDINAIRE GOES TO THE WHITE HOUSE

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ETTA EXTRAORDINAIRE GOES TO THE WHITE HOUSE

Name: ETTA EXTRAORDINAIRE GOES TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Author: Roda Ahmed
ISBN: 9780063295735

by Roda Ahmed & Charnaie Gordon ; illustrated by Chloe Burgett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 10, 2024

A snazzy lesson in civics—and on rolling with the punches.

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Etta Extraordinaire is back and getting ready to take a trip to the U.S. capital.

As the school bus arrives in Washington, D.C., Etta’s thrilled to see the cherry blossoms blooming and the city turning “pink, pink, pink!” On the White House lawn, her teacher, Ms. Prabhu, tells the children they’ll vote on the day’s activities, “the same way they decide things” here in Washington. Chloe proposes playing hide-and-seek. Emilio wants to play tug-of-war. Isaac hopes to visit the Presidential Library. Etta suggests having a cherry blossom party on the lawn. The kids make speeches and put their ideas to a vote, and Etta’s wins in a landslide victory. She and her classmates lay down a blanket, prepare treats, decorate the lawn, and sit down to enjoy the fruits of their labor. But when it begins to rain, the kids must move the party indoors to the White House’s Red Room, and the party is a smashing success. Kitted out in a wide-brimmed pink hat, a star-patterned blue scarf, her lucky pearls, and a plaid skirt, Etta cuts a stylish figure in Burgett’s charming digital illustrations. She’s a confident, formidable presence, though she endures a few moments of uncertainty as the weather turns rainy; readers will find her relatable. Educators who are devising lesson plans related to voting will want to incorporate this tale. Etta is Black; her class is diverse.

A snazzy lesson in civics—and on rolling with the punches. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024

ISBN: 9780063295735

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ETTA EXTRAORDINAIRE
by Roda Ahmed & Charnaie Gordon ; illustrated by Chloe Burgett

- BOOK REVIEW
MAE AMONG THE STARS
by Roda Ahmed ; illustrated by Stasia Burrington

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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)