Review by New York Times Review
In these books, back-to-school jitters give way to smiles, laughs - even a little learning. MAE'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL Written and illustrated by Kate Berube. "I'm not going" is a phrase parents dread this time of year, but a book as clever and friendly as this one may ease the situation. As the first day of school dawns, Mae is holding out, arms crossed, imagining disaster as her mom and dad hustle her out the door, insisting that fun lies ahead. She climbs a tree, where she's joined by a girl named Rosie. Then a "tall lady" climbs the tree too, and tells the kids her own reasons for not wanting to go. She's their teacher, of course - a playful stroke by Berube ("Hannah and Sugar"), whose loose-lined art makes even scrunchy scowls seem delightful. 32 pp. Abrams. $16.99. (Ages 3 to 6) WE DON'T EAT OUR CLASSMATES Written and illustrated by Ryan T. Higgins. Penelope, a young T-rex in pink overalls, wants to be a good classmate. She just has to kick her habit of ingesting her peers, who all happen to be children. Higgins ("Mother Bruce") knows how to make big, scary animals seem vulnerable, lovable and funny, adding a strategic touch of gross-out when our heroine spits her victims back up. But this story of a reformed predator - Penelope changes her ways after a goldfish chomps her finger - is really about empathy. 48 pp. Hyperion. $17.99. (Ages 3 to 8) THE DAY YOU BEGIN By Jacqueline Woodson. Illustrated by Rafael López. Starting a new school year is hard enough. Add in feeling different from your classmates, and it can shake a kid to the core. The incomparable Woodson ("Brown Girl Dreaming") and López ("Drum Dream Girl") extend a reassuring hand in this verbally and visually poetic book that soothes concerns about having the wrong hair, bringing strongsmelling lunches, speaking imperfect English or spending the summer vacation at home. The kids we meet all take a first step toward making the most of school: finding the bravery to tell their own stories out loud. 32 pp. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen. $18.99. (Ages 4 to 8) THE DINOSAUR EXPERT By Margaret McNamara. Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. This fourth book featuring Mr. Tiffin's class (the previous one was "A Poem in Your Pocket") takes on both the excitement of a field trip to a natural-history museum and one girl's struggle to feel confident sharing her vast knowledge of prehistoric creatures - especially after a boy informs her, "Girls can't be scientists." Mr. Tiffin to the rescue: He steers her to an exhibit featuring Dr. Brandoni Gasparini, dinosaur expert. As always, McNamara and Karas excel at telling a story that balances facts and feelings. 40 pp. Random House/Schwartz & Wade. $17.99. (Ages 4 to 8) BESTFRINTSATSKROOL Written and illustrated by Antoinette Portis. Did you know that "on planet Boborp, childrinx go to skrool"? Of course they do! This exuberant follow-up to "Best Frints in the Whole Universe" explains the ins and outs of the little aliens' raucous way of learning (with a little lunch-throwing in the mix). The language Portis has invented for these colorful characters is hilarious and easy to follow - silly perfection, and maybe even an inspiration for little linguists to make up their own. 40 pp. Roaring Brook/Neal Porter. $17.99. (Ages 4 to 8) GOODBYE BRINGS HELLO By Dianne White. Illustrated by Daniel Wiseman. Starting school also means letting go of the trappings of little-kid life. This wise book bears witness to the transitions that lead up to that big one: growing out of favorite clothes, moving from trike to bike and from crayons to pencils. White ("Blue on Blue") and Wiseman ("Play This Book") keep the tone encouraging and gentle, offering a chance for even the youngest kids to indulge their nostalgia. 40 pp. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $17.99. (Ages 3 to 7) TWIG Written and illustrated by Aura Parker. It's tough being a stick insect. You blend in easily - all too easily, as Heidi, the new girl at bug school, finds. When it comes to making friends, long, lean, woody-brown Heidi suffers, because no one can see her beyond her camouflage until the kind spider-teacher comes up with a solution (a scarf). Truth be told, there's not much to the story, but this adorable debut by Parker teems with delicate details, many of them visual puzzles. 32 pp. Simon & Schuster. $17.99. (Ages 4 to 8) MR. WOLF'S CLASS Written and illustrated by Aron Nels Steinke. This upbeat graphic novel - the beginning of a promising new series - chronicles the activities of a bustling class of fourth graders and their devoted, slightly overwhelmed teacher, Mr. Wolf. Yes, he's a wolf; the students are a host of animals, including a frog, a duck, a dog and a rabbit. Everyone has hands and feet and walks upright, though, and their problems and behavior are strikingly like their counterparts in schools for human children - only funnier. 160 pp. Scholastic/Graphix. $9.99. (Ages 6 to 10) MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor at the Book Review.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [January 31, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
Those wild and crazy best frints, Omek and Yelfred from Best Frints in the Whole Universe (2016), are back with their unique language and rascally behavior. In skrool on the planet Boborp with the other childrinx, they learn numbers (urm, gurm, threep) and make new frints, which proves unfortunate for Omek when he is literally left in the dust as Yelfred zooms off with his new best frint Q-B. At first Omek is shut out, but the other two quickly learn that threep is better than gurm when it comes to food fights and playing eye ball. Although some of the activities on Boborp are comparable to those on Earth, there is little physical similarity. Boborp's stroodents and skrool staff come in all sizes, shapes, and bold colors pink Yelfred and purple Omek look like commas with antennae, arms, and legs, while the blue yunch lady resembles a one-eyed octopus. Once again Yelfred and Omek manage to work out their issues while getting through the day just like us earthlings.--Enos, Randall Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In their second outing (following Best Frints in the Whole Universe), alien best friends Omek and Yelfred are pink and purple, with reptilian tails and pincer arms, and they "go to skrool, just like here on planet Earth." Also like on Earth, meeting new friends at skrool can lead to hurt feelings. In bright, gestural cartoon characters, Portis depicts Yelfred as he has fun with a new "frint," a red, cube-like alien named Q-B, leaving Omek watching dejectedly from the sidelines, antennae drooping. At "yunch," Omek is once again alone, but when an epic food fight ("Everyone is sharing!") leads Omek to team up with Yelfred and Q-B, they become a tight threesome: "On Boborp, what makes things the most fun... is a best frint and a best best frint." With humor and tenderness, Portis explores the uncertainty and unexpected joys that come with navigating childhood friendships. Ages 4-8. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-We all have a best frint-one that we go to skrool with, read bloox with, and even share healthy spewds with. But what about sharing that best frint? The newest picture book from Portis explores this question in a zany, fun-to-read manner as best buds Omek and Yelfred meet Q-B. After Yelfred and Q-B zoom away together, Omek is left wondering if he will ever get his best frint back. Only after a rousing game of "eye ball in the peedle pit" does Omek realize that more frints are better! Bold, colorful illustrations accompany the equally bold narrative. VERDICT An excellent and engaging read-aloud with a smart, timely message. A perfect selection for the beginning of school that will be requested all year long.-Amanda C. Buschmann, -Carroll Elementary School, Houston © Copyright 2018. 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
Yelfred and Omek (Best Frints in the Whole Universe, rev. 5/16) dont just play all day in the peedle pit. They also go to skrool. They listen to their skreecher, they read (or eat) bloox, and they navigate social dynamics, such as when a new frint comes between the pals. As in the previous book, the storys copious humor comes from readers recognizing the similarities between Planet Boborp and our home planet (just like here on Planet Earth) and from the unexpected and hilarious ways Portis presents the differences. For example, heres a Boborpian student learning to count: Urm, gurm, threep, forgg, flive, snirb, slebben, twango, frango, gazango! Just try saying that with a straight faceor better yet watch a child attempt it. Bright, blobby, and pointy pencil, charcoal, and digital illustrations capture the characters recognizable emotions (pride, self-confidence, joy, mischievousness, boredom, anger, jealousy) in an out-of-this-world school setting. A glossary precedes the story, and a spread instructing how to count to ten on Boborp and how to play eye ball in the peedle pit is appended. elissa Gershowitz (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Omek and Yelfred have weathered friendship difficulties before (Best Frints in the Whole Universe, 2016), but can their relationship survive Yelfred's picking Q-B as his new best frint?Skrool on Boborp is similar to school on Earth, with rules, learning, and bloox to read, though Portis' pictures and text hilariously contradict each other. "When the bell BLANGS the stroodents sit quietly." In the picture, they bite and kick, and across the gutter, they yell as they "learn to listen when their skreecher spleeks." At recess, "childrinx make new frints," and this is where the trouble starts for poor Omek, whose best frint, Yelfred, has a new best frint, Q-B. Omek's frown deepens and their shoulders and head sag ever more as Yelfred and Q-B grow close and leave them out of their fun. But some lunch sharing ("Spewd flight!") gives Omek the opening he needs. Portis' illustrations, done with pencil, charcoal, and a Cintiq drawing tablet, once again use a brilliant palette and digital textures to great effect, bringing to vivid life this alien world. The characters are diverse in color, shape, size, and numbers of eyes, tentacles, and appendages. Endpapers add to the fun (and help decipher the Boborpian language) with a glossary of terms, the numbers from one to 10, and directions for playing eye ball in the peedle pit. Gurm's company, but threep doesn't have to be a crowd when it comes to starting school and making new friends. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
