The team of Audrey Vernick, Liz Garton Scanlon and Chris Raschka probably had a substitute teacher or two during their school days. However, I wonder if they were as unsure of them as the narrator is of their substitute teacher in Dear Substitute. Finding out that their teacher is out unexpectantly (why did Mrs. Giordano not warn them?) all sorts of feelings pop up for one student. After all, Miss Pelly changes their routines, cannot pronounce some of the student’s names, she reads new books […]
Attention: Lena is Excited but her shoes? Not so much!
Lena’s Shoes Are Nervous: A First-Day-Of-School Dilemma is a new take on an old theme: child is nervous about the first day of school. Instead of Lena saying she is nervous, Keith Calabrese has Lena’s shoes show their apprehension and has Lena telling her father they are nervous. The combination of a child’s imagination (the dress and shoes do not speak but everyone loves the green headband) and the real feelings will be humorous for most readers. And while I appreciate the story and the […]
Tiny bubbles Make me happy
Bubbles. Who does not like bubbles? Kangaroo sure does! And in this cute (but has been done before) story, Kit Chase shows us how much Kangaroo loves blowing Bubbles. In fact, when she finds some new ones floating by, she follows them and finds Koala. Who is blowing bubbles, too, but does not see very friendly. In fact, is down right shy. Soon, he starts to play with Kangaroo (although while he’s still in the tree). Yet, when Kangaroo needs help from the big bubble […]
I Am Loved
Ashley Bryan has hand-selected a dozen poems by Nikki Giovanni that cover the theme, “I Am Loved” then illustrated with their signature style artwork. Other than saying how beautiful the poems are or saying how amazing Giovanni’s words are, there is little to say about the lyricalness of them. They are classic Giovanni. They portray depth, feeling and show how much Giovanni cares about the theme and the subject. Other than saying how beautiful the illustrations are or saying how amazing Bryan’s work is, there […]