Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-These three books are a bit of a mixed bag. In Cazet's title, the bossy bird introduced in Elvis the Rooster Almost Goes to Heaven (HarperCollins, 2003) is forced into learning to say "please" and "thank you." Although the artwork is amusing, the story is confusing and the dialogue is difficult to follow. Expressions such as "Little Willie is busy.- He has a feather in every pie" will most likely perplex the intended audience. In Space Cat, a feline astronaut and his robot encounter some difficulty on their journey. The vocabulary is a bit challenging, and the comic drawings are primarily decorative. Overall, though, the book is an entertaining selection for more competent readers. In Ruby, a raccoon asks her friends, "What does it take to bake a cake?" She throws everything they suggest into the mix, including carrots, worms, flies, snails, and nuts. She bakes the terrible-smelling concoction, and when the friends sit down, they try their best to come up with nice things to say. Easy vocabulary and repetition make this a good choice for beginning readers, and the softly rendered pastel illustrations provide good picture clues. Skip Elvis, but add Ruby and Space Cat where books for beginning readers are in demand.-Melinda Piehler, Sawgrass Elementary School, Sunrise, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
When Ruby Raccoon asks her friends how to bake a cake, each animal suggests a favorite ingredient, including snails and worms. Ruby takes all their suggestions, with unfortunate results. Nevertheless, her true-blue friends all find something to compliment+such as the cake's shape, color, and juiciness. Ruby's unappetizing creation is amusing, and the soft, amiable illustrations add to the friendly mood. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Ruby is a chubby raccoon in a green dress with a very limited background in the kitchen in this appealing mid-level entry in the I Can Read series. In traditional cumulative story fashion, Ruby goes to all her animal friends asking for suggestions on ingredients for baking a cake. Each animal suggests a favorite food (nuts from the squirrel, snails from the duck, flies from the frog), leading to a green, gloppy mess when the cake is served at Ruby's house. Her faithful friends offer compliments anyway, and Ruby concludes that she didn't bake a good cake, but she does have good friends. Moore's softly shaded watercolor-and-ink illustrations add personality to each animal character and charming details to Ruby's cozy kitchen. This story would also work well as a read-aloud in primary-grade classrooms as a counterpoint to "The Little Red Hen" or in conjunction with other cumulative stories. (Easy reader. 5-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
