Another sure-to-please entry in the buddy saga.
The latest in the series sees the friends making pizza, playing in the snow, and taking a hike.
Pizza-making begins promisingly (“Mix. Roll. Pull”), but tossing the dough brings disaster: “SPLAT.” The pair are determined (“Again,” “pull”), but alas, the final step is always followed by “STICK,” “SPLAT,” and “PLOP,” whether it’s Penguin or Owl throwing the pie to the sky. Draped in dough, they finally have a joint light bulb moment—time for a trip to the pizza parlor to enjoy pies topped with fish and mice. In the second tale, after a snowfall, each friend wants to make a snow-self, but Penguin’s creation collapses. Penguin is sad, so Owl nobly repurposes bits of the snow-owl to create a snow-penguin. Penguin thoughtfully adds owl features to one side, so they end up with a bilateral Snow-Owl-Penguin. The final tale, “Hike,” is propelled by opposites: far/near, up/down, dark/light, and more. These prepositions barely hint at the drama within the illustrations: The pals fall into a cavern, plummet over a waterfall while rafting, and encounter an angry mama bear. Nevertheless, by sunset the friends are safely home, regaling each other with memories of their exciting day. Madan’s exceedingly simple text—often, just a word or two per panel—tells a dynamic story, complemented by enchanting cartoon illustrations of the big-eyed, adorable duo.
Another sure-to-please entry in the buddy saga. (instructions for drawing Owl and Penguin) (Graphic easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9780823457120
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
Totes adorbs.
A cuddly, squishy pug’s puggy-wuggy diary.
Equipped with both #pugunicorn and #pughotdog outfits, pug Baron von Bubbles (aka Bub) is the kind of dog that always dresses to impress. Bub also makes lots of memorable faces, such as the “Hey, you’re not the boss of me!” expression aimed at Duchess, the snooty pink house cat. Some of Bub’s favorite things include skateboarding, a favorite teddy, and eating peanut butter. Bub also loves Bella, who adopted Bub from a fair—it was “love at first sniff.” Together, Bub and Bella do a lot of arts and crafts. Their latest project: entering Bella’s school’s inventor challenge by making a super-duper awesome rocket. But, when the pesky neighborhood squirrel, Nutz, makes off with Bub’s bear, Bub accidentally ruins their project. How will they win the contest? More importantly, how will Bella ever forgive him? May’s cutesy, full-color cartoon art sets the tone for this pug-tastic romp for the new-to–chapter-books crowd. Emojilike faces accentuate Bub’s already expressive character design. Bub’s infectious first-person narration pushes the silly factor off the charts. In addition to creating the look and feel of a diary, the lined paper helps readers follow the eight-chapter story. Most pages have fewer than five sentences, often broken into smaller sections. Additional text appears in color-coded speech bubbles. Bella presents white.
Totes adorbs. (Fiction. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-53003-2
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.
The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.
Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.
Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780063329560
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
