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HORSE AND ZEBRA BAKE A CAKE

Name: HORSE AND ZEBRA BAKE A CAKE
Author: Whitney Sanderson
ISBN: 9781631637117

From the Horse and Zebra series

by Whitney Sanderson ; illustrated by Angelika Scudamore ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2023

A simple story with compromise baked in.

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A pair of bakers work together on a special oatcake recipe.

Although the title mentions only one cake, anthropomorphic, bipedal Horse and Zebra make many oatcakes in this story. At first it seems the text may take a page from “The Little Red Hen,” since Horse does all the work baking oatcakes to sell while Zebra sleeps until noon. But when the oatcakes start to sell like hotcakes, Zebra steps up to pitch in. The friends’ baking success is short-lived, however, since the animal community soon tires of plain oatcakes. Horse resists Zebra’s plan to jazz up the recipe: “ ‘Whoa!’ said Horse. ‘The old Clydesdale Family Oatcake Recipe has never changed before. We can’t change it now!’ ” When Zebra tries to make some changes anyway, the complex recipe she attempts is a flop, with animal customers rejecting it outright. Finally Horse comes around to the idea of adding just one special ingredient to the recipe, and the pair has a baked-goods success on their hands once more thanks to the compromise they reach. Although the storyline is a bit light and the cartoon illustrations are largely redundant, doing little to expand upon the text, a discussion guide and recipe help to round out this pleasant enough offering.

A simple story with compromise baked in. (Early reader. 4-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023

ISBN: 9781631637117

Page Count: 48

Publisher: North Star Editions

Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE GREAT UNICORN RACE
by Whitney Sanderson ; illustrated by Jomike Tejido

- BOOK REVIEW
HEARTSONG'S MISSING FOAL
by Whitney Sanderson ; illustrated by Jomike Tejido

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2025

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.

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In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.

Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 25, 2025

ISBN: 9780063387843

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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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)