A fun romp around the grocery store that kids will relate to and a wonderful read-aloud.
by Stacy McAnulty ; illustrated by Deborah Hocking ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 10, 2018
A trip to the grocery store is so much fun…not.
When it comes to avoiding the grocery store, Max is a pro. “Hide. Fake an injury. Hide again.” If necessary, “Fake a bigger injury,” he advises. But Max knows resistance is futile and also offers survival tactics. First, find the perfect cart, he says. The “classic” and “original” shopping cart “is best” because “it’s sleek, big and fast.” The produce section “is a good place to learn to juggle,” he continues, and “keep a lookout for free samples.” Max also has a big bag of tricks for getting what he wants. “Grab all your favorite cookies and then give your mom your saddest puppy-dog eyes.” And to ensure you’re one step closer to getting a pet, “always grab a bag of dog food.” Hocking cleverly uses double-page spreads for multiple effects. A hand-drawn map illustrates his (Max’s) and her (Mom’s) shopping routes. The cereal aisle, as seen from a kid’s point of view, occupies almost the entire spread, gently mocking the mind-boggling array of cereal varieties available to consumers. After McAnulty’s snappy text weaves in and out of a bag of bagels, ravioli in a can, frozen peas, etc. at the checkout counter, readers learn a very important lesson: At the grocery store, you may not get what you want or remember to buy everything you need, but there’s always candy. Both Mom and Max have light-brown skin and dark hair.
A fun romp around the grocery store that kids will relate to and a wonderful read-aloud. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-101-99644-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
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by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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More About This Book
SEEN & HEARD
by George Shannon ; illustrated by Blanca Gómez ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 26, 2015
A playful counting book also acts as a celebration of family and human diversity.
Shannon’s text is delivered in spare, rhythmic, lilting verse that begins with one and counts up to 10 as it presents different groupings of things and people in individual families, always emphasizing the unitary nature of each combination. “One is six. One line of laundry. One butterfly’s legs. One family.” Gomez’s richly colored pictures clarify and expand on all that the text lists: For “six,” a picture showing six members of a multigenerational family of color includes a line of laundry with six items hanging from it outside of their windows, as well as the painting of a six-legged butterfly that a child in the family is creating. While text never directs the art to depict diverse individuals and family constellations, Gomez does just this in her illustrations. Interracial families are included, as are depictions of men with their arms around each other, and a Sikh man wearing a turban. This inclusive spirit supports the text’s culminating assertion that “One is one and everyone. One earth. One world. One family.”
A visually striking, engaging picture book that sends the message that everyone counts. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-374-30003-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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