Young readers would do well to follow the worthy example of this perceptive protagonist.
The protagonist of Misty Mole Gets New Glasses (2024) learns about the perils of screen time.
Misty Mole’s in the forest, painting a scene that features her friends. But where are they? They’re too busy texting or gaming to make time for her. Misty imagines that she’s Super Mole, playing with her pals, and realizes that to fit in, she’ll need her own phone. Her parents agree to get her one—if she promises not to “get carried away.” Unfortunately, Misty gets more than carried away: She games under the covers at night, loses sleep, is inattentive in class, and ignores her younger brother. Soon, Misty can’t see well, even with her glasses. Visiting the eye doctor, she notices that all her friends are there, too, with various complaints—headaches, red eyes, trouble sleeping, and more. Dr. Eagle warns the children that screens can cause vision and other health problems and advises them to limit screen time and to play outdoors more. At this, Misty adopts her Super Mole persona and encourages her friends to find healthy alternatives. Written by an optometrist, this somewhat didactic U.K. import conveys important messages to children and adults. Energetic, colorful illustrations depict an adorable, all-animal cast; it’s no coincidence the “tuned-out” activities that endearing Misty and her pals engage in seem more fun than the sedentary, screen-dependent ones.
Young readers would do well to follow the worthy example of this perceptive protagonist. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9781911107651
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Neem Tree Press
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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