While the small details preclude group sharing, this is just right for sharing with one or two soon-to-be-schoolers or for...
Readers will actively explore an elementary school environment in this latest in Ljungkvist’s successful string of books.
Beginning on the front cover and ending on the back, an uninterrupted black line leads readers through the front doors of a school, into and around a classroom, to the library, art and music rooms, cafeteria and playground and, finally, back out the door at the end of the day. Along the way, three questions on each spread prompt children to really think about what they may see, do and learn at school and give them a chance to show off what they already know. On the cafeteria page they are asked to name all the fruits they see, while the music-room spread challenges them to sort instruments according to how they make their sounds. Opportunities abound to identify numbers, shapes, letters, animals and colors within the artwork—a busy collaged mix of photos, cut paper, found objects and drawings. The titular line snakes and weaves through it all, cleverly forming words, numbers, furniture, animals, playground equipment and objects. Even without the seek-and-find and line-following games, there is plenty here to keep readers’ attention—and to allay at least a few concerns about what school will be like.
While the small details preclude group sharing, this is just right for sharing with one or two soon-to-be-schoolers or for independent browsing of the stylish illustrations. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: July 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-670-01226-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
Desperation confused for hysterics.
Harris’ latest makes an urgent plea for somber reflection.
“Stop! Stop!! Stop!!!” Right from the get-go, readers are presented with three rules for reading this book (“Don’t look at this book!” “Do look at your listener!” “Get your listener to look at you!”). But the true lesson is in the title itself: If anyone listening to this book laughs, you have to start it all over. Challenge accepted? Good. Sheer frenetic energy propels what passes for a narrative as the book uses every trick up its sleeve to give kids the giggles. Silly names, ridiculous premises, and kooky art combine, all attempting some level of hilarity. Bloch’s art provides a visual cacophony of collaged elements, all jostling for the audience’s attention. Heavily influenced by similar fourth wall–busting titles like The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (1992) by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith, and the more contemporary The Book With No Pictures (2014) by B.J. Novak, these attempts to win over readers and make them laugh will result in less giggles than one might imagine. In the end, the ultimate success of this book may rest less on the art or text and more on the strength of the reader’s presentation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Desperation confused for hysterics. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-42488-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pedestrian.
Mr. Brown can’t help with farm chores because his shoes are missing—a common occurrence in his household and likely in many readers’ as well.
Children will be delighted that the titular Mr. Brown is in fact a child. After Mr. Brown looks in his closet and sorts through his other family members’ shoes with no luck, his father and his siblings help him search the farm. Eventually—after colorful pages that enable readers to spot footwear hiding—the family gives up on their hunt, and Mr. Brown asks to be carried around for the chores. He rides on his father’s shoulders as Papa gets his work done, as seen on a double-page spread of vignettes. The resolution is more of a lesson for the adult readers than for children, a saccharine moment where father and son express their joy that the missing shoes gave them the opportunity for togetherness—with advice for other parents to appreciate those fleeting moments themselves. Though the art is bright and cheerful, taking advantage of the setting, it occasionally is misaligned with the text (for example, the text states that Mr. Brown is wearing his favorite green shirt while the illustration is of a shirt with wide stripes of white and teal blue, which could confuse readers at the point where they’re trying to figure out which family member is Mr. Brown). The family is light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Pedestrian. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5460-0389-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: WorthyKids/Ideals
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
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