Review by New York Times Review
Edda's home is in Asgard, "a land full of magic and adventure." But Edda, the littlest Valkyrie, doesn't have quite enough to do, until her father flies her "all the way to Earth for the first day of school." The contrast between home and school is hard to get used to (in one, she can ride reindeer; in the other she gazes through glass at the classroom guinea pig). In his first picture book, Auerbach mingles the two worlds unapologetically. Children are likely to appreciate the joke. MY TEACHER IS A MONSTER! (NO, I AM NOT.) Written and illustrated by Peter Brown. 40 pp. Little, Brown. $18. (Picture book; ages 4 to 7) Brown, who won a 2013 Caldecott Honor for "Creepy Carrots!," can really make a teacher look terrifying. Ms. Kirby is as enormous as a rhino, with pointed teeth and big clawed hands. She stomps around and yells, and Bobby, one of the boys in her class, has gotten on her bad side by throwing a paper airplane. Later, when they meet by accident in the park, it's awkward. But "a gust of wind changed everything," and Bobby learns that appearances are not always as they seem. PLANET KINDERGARTEN By Sue Ganz-Schmitt. Illustrated by Shane Prigmore. 32 pp. Chronicle. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 7) After careful preparations and a successful blastoff, a boy finds himself in a very unfamiliar environment. "We're aliens from many galaxies on Planet Kindergarten," he reflects as he sees his very varied classmates for the first time. Prigmore, who designs for the movie industry, deploys black backgrounds, bright, popping colors and crazy layouts to give this space adventure visual excitement and madcap humor. THE SMALLEST GIRL IN THE SMALLEST GRADE By Justin Roberts. Illustrated by Christian Robinson. 32 pp. Putnam. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) It makes sense that the author of the long, rhyming lines in "The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade" is a children's music performer. This is a ballad, really, about the power of one small person to fight injustice. Sally, whom no one ever seems to notice, is "paying super extra special attention" to the "terrible stuff" happening around her. When she decides to take action, she's not alone for long. Robinson's colored-pencil illustrations give this inspiring story an appropriately childlike style. AND TWO BOYS BOOED By Judith Viorst. Illustrated by Sophie Black-all. 32 pp. Margaret Ferguson/Farrar, Straus & Giroux. $16.99. (Lift-the-flap picture book; ages 4 to 8) Ever felt quietly confident one minute, and a shivering mess the next? In Viorst's witty story about perseverance, a little boy wakes up thinking about singing his song in the class talent show. Blackall, who brings quirky expression to every illustration, shows him under a lift-the-flap patchwork quilt, eyes wide with excitement. But as he waits to perform, even his words get confused: "On the talent of the morning show, I was ready to song my sing." Just doing it turns out to be the solution. ONLINE A slide show of this week's illustrated books at nytimes.com/books.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [September 7, 2014]
Review by Booklist Review
This effective rhyming book by kiddie-rock star Roberts takes on the subjects of bullying, teasing, and excluding others. The action centers upon a school, where plenty of kids commit big and little cruelties, like shoving someone off the slide or laughing at an obese child. But one girl sees it all: tiny little Sally McCabe. Though ignored by all, Sally has the gift of paying super extra special attention, from the 27 keys on the janitor's ring to more serious matters like one kid being tripped by another. Finally, Sally steps out of the lunchroom line and makes a scene: She said, I'm tired of seeing this terrible stuff. / Stop hurting each other! This is enough! A kindness revolution of sorts follows, allowing Roberts to make the point that one small voice can bring big results. Robinson's childlike colored-pencil art creates round-headed characters that look perfectly innocent which is why their misbehavior feels all the more startling. This is a serious topic given serious treatment, and it should be ideal for initiating discussions.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
No one notices tiny Sally McCabe, but she is "paying super extra special attention" to everything around her-and what she sees is an epidemic of bullying, brusqueness, and cruelty in her school ("She saw Kevin McKuen get pushed off the slide-/ and the oncoming tears that he wanted to hide"). So Sally takes a stand, Norma Rae-style, in the lunchroom: "I'm tired of seeing this terrible stuff," she proclaims, sticking her finger emphatically in the air. "Stop hurting each other! This is enough!" Children's musician Roberts can pour it on a little thick ("She'd seen how a whisper could make someone cower/ like a bulldozer crushing through fields of wildflowers"), but his premise should strike a chord with an age group that has a strong sense of injustice, and Sally's big moment is genuinely inspiring. (The story is adapted from Roberts's song "Billy the Bully.") He's also well served by Robinson's (Gaston) naif, colored pencil drawings, which have a poignant expressiveness and the emotional directness of real schoolroom art. Ages 3-5. Author's agency: Davey Literary & Media. Illustrator's agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
