Weeks continues her watery-themed flow of beginning readers (Splish, Splash!, not reviewed) with this entry in the I Can Read Book series. A charmingly domesticated rodent named Pip Squeak is struggling with that perplexing problem every homeowner dreads: the drips and drops and plips and plops of a leaky roof in a major rainstorm. Poor Pip Squeak is ready to snooze in yellow-striped pajamas and dapper bathrobe, longing to rest his head on his pillow printed with slices of Swiss cheese. Instead, he spends his entire night racing from one dripping leak to another, using every available container to catch the drops. The story is told in simple, short sentences with repeating phrases, picture clues, and a variety of simple rhyme schemes that help new readers predict the text. The straightforward but amusing story and large, clear illustrations also make Drip, Drop an appropriate choice for a group story session for preschoolers, perhaps for a thematic story hour focusing on mice or water. Manning’s (Cindy Ellen, p. 636, etc.) droll illustrations use a contemporary palette of mango and lavender, with lots of light blue raindrops, and she fashions an appealing personality for the unfortunate mouse, who finally gets to nap in the morning when the sun comes up. It’s hard to create a strong easy reader that works as both a teaching tool and an effective picture book, but Pip Squeak has the muscle to carry it off. A solid choice for the easy reader shelves in both public and school libraries. (Junior Library Guild selection) (Easy reader. 4-7)
Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2000
ISBN: 0-06-028523-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2000
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Dedicated “to children everywhere sitting in cardboard boxes,” this elemental debut depicts a bunny with big, looping ears demonstrating to a rather thick, unseen questioner (“Are you still standing around in that box?”) that what might look like an ordinary carton is actually a race car, a mountain, a burning building, a spaceship or anything else the imagination might dream up. Portis pairs each question and increasingly emphatic response with a playscape of Crockett Johnson–style simplicity, digitally drawn with single red and black lines against generally pale color fields. Appropriately bound in brown paper, this makes its profound point more directly than such like-themed tales as Marisabina Russo’s Big Brown Box (2000) or Dana Kessimakis Smith’s Brave Spaceboy (2005). (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-06-112322-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2006
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