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MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

Name: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
Author: Bob Raczka
ISBN: 0-7613-2797-5

SEEING ART WITH ALL FIVE SENSES

by Bob Raczka ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2003

Using a wide variety of well-chosen paintings, Raczka adds an appropriate phrase to further illustrate his premise. In...

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Listen to the cannons boom, pat tortillas, count the pictures, smell the fragrant flowers, and sip a cup of tea. Raczka suggests that art can be experienced, not only visually, but also through sound, smell, touch, and taste as well. Of course he’s not encouraging his young readers to actually sniff or touch the paintings, but to be fully engaged by a work of art. Each sense has its own section with a very brief introduction.

Using a wide variety of well-chosen paintings, Raczka adds an appropriate phrase to further illustrate his premise. In several cases, he enlarges a detail from the painting to focus on the sense depicted. He labels every painting with its title, artist, date, and the collection in which it’s contained and presents a further bit of information about each painter in an illustrated alphabetical listing. This is a work to examine again and again. A delightful, insightful introduction to the world of art. (Nonfiction/picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2003

ISBN: 0-7613-2797-5

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Millbrook

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2003

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
THE POWER OF SNOW
by Bob Raczka ; illustrated by Bryony Clarkson

- BOOK REVIEW
YOU ARE A STORY
by Bob Raczka ; illustrated by Kristen Howdeshell & Kevin Howdeshell

- BOOK REVIEW
THE POET OF PINEY WOODS
by Bob Raczka ; illustrated by Kristen Howdeshell & Kevin Howdeshell

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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
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- 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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THE CRAYONS GO BACK TO SCHOOL

by Drew Daywalt ; illustrated by Oliver Jeffers ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 16, 2023

Nothing new here but a nonetheless congenial matriculant in publishing’s autumnal rite of back-to-school offerings.

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The Crayons head back to class in this latest series entry.

Daywalt’s expository text lays out the basics as various Crayons wave goodbye to the beach, choose a first-day outfit, greet old friends, and make new ones. As in previous outings, the perennially droll illustrations and hand-lettered Crayon-speak drive the humor. The ever wrapperless Peach, opining, “What am I going to wear?” surveys three options: top hat and tails, a chef’s toque and apron, and a Santa suit. New friends Chunky Toddler Crayon (who’s missing a bite-sized bit of their blue point) and Husky Toddler Crayon speculate excitedly on their common last name: “I wonder if we’re related!” White Crayon, all but disappearing against the page’s copious white space, sits cross-legged reading a copy of H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man. And Yellow and Orange, notable for their previous existential argument about the color of the sun, find agreement in science class: Jupiter, clearly, is yellow AND orange. Everybody’s excited about art class—“Even if they make a mess. Actually…ESPECIALLY if they make a mess!” Here, a spread of crayoned doodles of butterflies, hearts, and stars is followed by one with fulsome scribbles. Fans of previous outings will spot cameos from Glow in the Dark and yellow-caped Esteban (the Crayon formerly known as Pea Green). (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Nothing new here but a nonetheless congenial matriculant in publishing’s autumnal rite of back-to-school offerings. (Picture book. 4-6)