BILL BOWERBIRD AND THE UNBEARABLE BEAK-ACHE

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BILL BOWERBIRD AND THE UNBEARABLE BEAK-ACHE

Name: BILL BOWERBIRD AND THE UNBEARABLE BEAK-ACHE
Author: Tyler Clark Burke
ISBN: 978-1-77147-154-1

by Tyler Clark Burke ; illustrated by Tyler Clark Burke ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2017

Skip.

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Bill Bowerbird, normally a happy fellow, awakens one morning with a terrible pain in his beak.

Bill is distraught. He has never had a beak-ache before and does not know what to do. Off he goes to seek help from his friends. The owl offers honey, and the zebras allow Bill to take a few of their colorful stripes. Neither helps, but Bill does not give up: he soldiers on, asking friend after friend for advice in rhyming couplets. Though he collects many items to take back to his nest, not one of them relieves his pain, not even the frozen carrot from the walrus who serves as town clerk. By the story’s conclusion, however, Bill is pain-free at last. To his surprise, the pain was only—and very improbably—a new tooth sprouting! Bill celebrates by inviting all of his friends over to thank them with a party before cleaning his nest of all the new stuff. Canadian writer and illustrator Burke’s book is rich with colors—the confetti-striped zebras are an especial treat—but the text suffers. Though the refrain is catchy (“Wickety-tickety BOO-hoo-hoo!”), the rhyming text is often badly forced: “ ‘What to do, what to do?’ Bill loudly wails. / ‘Please help me, friends, to cure this ail!’ ” The plot likewise feels underdeveloped, and its failure to capitalize on what makes real bowerbirds special—their elaborately constructed nests—is a serious missed opportunity.

Skip. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 15, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-77147-154-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Owlkids Books

Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LAST LOOSE TOOTH
by Tyler Clark Burke ; illustrated by Tyler Clark Burke

- BOOK REVIEW
WHERE ARE YOU NOW?
by Tyler Clark Burke ; illustrated by Tyler Clark Burke

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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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BUDDY'S NEW BUDDY

From the Growing With Buddy series , Vol. 3

by Christina Geist ; illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2022

Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient.

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How do you make a new friend when an old one moves away?

Buddy (from Sorry, Grown-Ups, You Can’t Go to School, 2019, etc.) is feeling lonely. His best friend just moved across town. To make matters worse, there is a field trip coming up, and Buddy needs a bus partner. His sister, Lady, has some helpful advice for making a new pal: “You just need to find something you have in common.” Buddy loves the game Robo Chargers and karate. Surely there is someone else who does, too! Unfortunately, there isn’t. However, when a new student arrives (one day later) and asks everyone to call her Sunny instead of Alison, Buddy gets excited. No one uses his given name, either; they just call him Buddy. He secretly whispers his “real, official name” to Sunny at lunch—an indication that a true friendship is being formed. The rest of the story plods merrily along, all pieces falling exactly into place (she even likes Robo Chargers!), accompanied by Bowers’ digital art, a mix of spot art and full-bleed illustrations. Friendship-building can be an emotionally charged event in a child’s life—young readers will certainly see themselves in Buddy’s plight—but, alas, there is not much storytelling magic to be found. Buddy and his family are White, Sunny and Mr. Teacher are Black, and Buddy’s other classmates are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient. (Picture book. 4-7)