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AND TWO BOYS BOOED

Name: AND TWO BOYS BOOED
Author: Judith Viorst
ISBN: 978-0-374-30302-0

by Judith Viorst ; illustrated by Sophie Blackall ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 2, 2014

Viorst ably returns to the familiar trope of vanquishing childhood fears, nicely abetted by the talented Blackall.

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A boy waits with increasing trepidation for his turn in the class talent show in this cumulative story.

He’s diligently practiced his song “a billion times” and wears his “lucky blue boots” and pants “with cool pockets.” (Blackall’s appealing illustrations cleverly incorporate flaps: Kids can check out the teeming contents of one of those pockets.) As, in succession, Chloe reads her poem, Henry walks on his hands, Georgia dances on her toes, Leo juggles, and Madeleine shows off her paintings, the young narrator grows ever more discombobulated, seeming to disappear into his yellow-striped sweater. He begins mixing up words: “On the talent of the morning show, I was ready to song my sing.” Uncertain as his turn arrives, he gets up and sits down repeatedly. Five double-page spreads depict his imagination’s chaotic fantasy, as he mentally mixes up talent-show props and activities and begins “walking my poem” and “dancing my hands.” Blackall clearly separates the realistic and fantasy elements—for the latter, she gives the boy blue pants and khaki-colored boots with pockets. When he finally manages to sing his song, “[t]wo boys booed. / But all the other kids were clapping!” The multiethnic classroom is adeptly managed by a sanguine teacher who keeps those two impish boys close by.

Viorst ably returns to the familiar trope of vanquishing childhood fears, nicely abetted by the talented Blackall. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-374-30302-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: June 29, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
LULU IS GETTING A SISTER
by Judith Viorst ; illustrated by Kevin Cornell

- BOOK REVIEW
WHAT ARE YOU GLAD ABOUT? WHAT ARE YOU MAD ABOUT?
by Judith Viorst ; illustrated by Lee White

- BOOK REVIEW
ALEXANDER, WHO'S TRYING HIS BEST TO BE THE BEST BOY EVER
by Judith Viorst ; illustrated by Isidre Monés

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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BUDDY'S NEW BUDDY

From the Growing With Buddy series , Vol. 3

by Christina Geist ; illustrated by Tim Bowers ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2022

Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient.

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How do you make a new friend when an old one moves away?

Buddy (from Sorry, Grown-Ups, You Can’t Go to School, 2019, etc.) is feeling lonely. His best friend just moved across town. To make matters worse, there is a field trip coming up, and Buddy needs a bus partner. His sister, Lady, has some helpful advice for making a new pal: “You just need to find something you have in common.” Buddy loves the game Robo Chargers and karate. Surely there is someone else who does, too! Unfortunately, there isn’t. However, when a new student arrives (one day later) and asks everyone to call her Sunny instead of Alison, Buddy gets excited. No one uses his given name, either; they just call him Buddy. He secretly whispers his “real, official name” to Sunny at lunch—an indication that a true friendship is being formed. The rest of the story plods merrily along, all pieces falling exactly into place (she even likes Robo Chargers!), accompanied by Bowers’ digital art, a mix of spot art and full-bleed illustrations. Friendship-building can be an emotionally charged event in a child’s life—young readers will certainly see themselves in Buddy’s plight—but, alas, there is not much storytelling magic to be found. Buddy and his family are White, Sunny and Mr. Teacher are Black, and Buddy’s other classmates are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Making friends isn’t always this easy and convenient. (Picture book. 4-7)