Review of Frank and the Bad Surprise, by Martha Brockenbrough, illustrated by Jon Lau

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Starred Review 0

Frank and the Bad Surprise

by Martha Brockenbrough
illustrated by Jon Lau

Levine Querido, 2022. 64 pages.
Review written December 13, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

This is a very beginning chapter book with seven short chapters and pictures on every page. It’s told from the perspective of Frank, a cat who’s happy with his life — until his owners bring home a bad surprise — a big box with a puppy inside.

Frank types them a letter:

To my dear humans:

We do not need the puppy. We were happy with life the way it was before. It is time to take the puppy back.

Sincerely,

Frank

But even though Frank puts the letter in an envelope and the envelope into the mailbox, his owners don’t get rid of the puppy.

When the puppy proves he doesn’t know the rules of naps (Do not disturb Frank!), Frank knows it’s time to find a new home.

But that does not go as planned.

Here’s Frank contemplating what he must do:

The humans would miss Frank. They would miss his plush fur.

They would miss his purrs.

They would miss the tricks he did with feathers on sticks and balls with bells.

But there was nothing to be done.

Yes the story is predictable — all the better for beginning readers — and it’s lots of fun.

A note on the cover says “Book One,” so I’m looking forward to more books about Frank and the puppy.

marthabrockenbrough.com
levinequerido.com

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Review of Juana and Lucas: Muchos Changes

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Starred Review 0

Juana & Lucas

Muchos Changes

by Juana Medina

Candlewick Press, 2021. 90 pages.
Review written September 28, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

The Juana & Lucas series is one of those exactly-perfect-for-beginning-chapter-book-readers books. There are thirteen short chapters, with friendly, happy, cartoon-like illustrations on each page, and an interesting story about a kid whose life is relatable — though she lives in Bogota, Colombia.

Juana is the one who narrates this book, in a friendly tone, peppered with Spanish words. Lucas is her furry amigo, a little dog who goes everywhere with her that she can bring him. The Spanish words happen throughout the book, but there’s enough context that English-only speakers won’t be confused and may pick up some Spanish.

In the first book, Juana’s Mami got married. In this book, her Mami is going to have a baby. She’s not sure what to think. Her friends tell her that babies make everything complicado.

The other big sopreso of the summer is that Juana’s Mami signed her up for roller skating camp. And none of her friends are there. And on her very first skate by herself across the rink, she tripped on a pebble and skinned her chin. So all the pictures after that show Juana with a scrape on her chin.

But Juana deals with all these things with spunk. Plus the help of her loving family, including her grandparents, and of course Lucas.

The book ends up being a happy story, with vibrant pictures full of motion, and you again feel like you have a friend in this kid from Colombia.

At the back, author Juana Medina shows herself at the character Juana’s age, holding her baby sister.

juanamedina.com
candlewick.com

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Review of The Great Mathemachicken: Hide and Go Beak, by Nancy Krulik, illustrated by Charlie Alder

Animal Characters, Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Mathematical, Starred Review 0

The Great Mathemachicken

Hide and Go Beak

by Nancy Krulik
illustrated by Charlie Alder

Pixel + Ink, 2022. 88 pages.
Review written May 6, 2022, from a library book
Starred Review

Here’s a silly and fun book about a chicken named Chirpy who wants to go beyond the coop. When she gets the chance to sneak out, she follows the children Randy and Andy onto the big yellow bus to go to school. Once there, she catches a ride on a rolling backpack.

Chirpy rolled into a room full of kids.
Which made her wonder:
At home kids stayed outside the coop.
Chickens stayed inside the coop.
Could school be a kid coop?
If someone saw Chirpy in a kid coop, would they make her leave?
Hmmm. . . .
Chirpy needed a hiding place, just like when the chicks played hide and go beak in the coop.

While Chirpy is hiding in the classroom, she learns basic principles of simple machines.

And when she goes home, those principles may be exactly what the chickens need to catch a fox!

The author and illustrator weren’t going for plausible in this book, but it sure is fun to read. Chirpy the curious chicken, excited about learning everything she can, earns her title of Mathemachicken.

At the back of the book, there are instructions for making your own simple machine, a Whirly-Swirly Wheel-and-Axle Toy. While following Chirpy’s adventures, kids may learn things themselves. The book is marked as Book One, so I’ll be watching for more.

realnancykrulik.com
PixelandInkBooks.com

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Review of Bibsy Cross and the Bike-a-thon, by Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Dung Ho

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review 0

Bibsy Cross and the Bike-a-thon

by Liz Garton Scanlon
illustrated by Dung Ho

Alfred A. Knopf, 2024. 112 pages.
Review written October 25, 2024, from a book sent to me by the publisher.

Bibsy Cross and the Bike-a-thon is a new beginning chapter book series about an irrepressible third grader named Bibsy Cross. This is the second one I’ve read.

In this book, Bibsy is excited about taking part in a “Bikes for Bucks for Books” event at the local library – so of course she got a fan here.

Bibsy forms a team with her best friend Natia, and is torn because she very much wants to win a prize for bringing in the most money for the library. Then on the day of the Bike-a-thon, things happen to mess up her plans.

I like Bibsy’s spirit – she has a tendency to raise her hand in class and share so much information that she tries the patience of her teacher. And I like the way her family shares “sweet-and-sours” at the dinner table – sweet things that happened and sour things that happened, and even ways the sour things have something sweet come out of them. And I love the way her parents are sympathetic about everything that happens to Bibsy, sweet or sour.

There are pictures on almost every page of this book, and not a whole lot of words per page, so this book is perfect for a kid building confidence in their reading.

lizgartonscanlon.com
dungho.me
rhcbooks.com

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Review of Crimson Twill: Witch in the City, by Kallie George

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review 0

Crimson Twill

Witch in the City

by Kallie George
illustrated by Birgitta Sif

Candlewick Press, 2022. 54 pages.
Review written February 26, 2023, from a library book
2022 Cybils Winner, Early Chapter Books

Witch in the City begins a new early chapter book series about a young witch named Crimson Twill.

Crimson Twill was a little witch. But you might not know it. She didn’t look like a typical little witch. Instead of wearing pointy shoes, she wore gum boots. Instead of wearing a plain black dress, she wore a polka-dotted one. And instead of wearing a plain black hat, she wore one with a big bow, and the hat was crimson, just like her name.

Crimson Twill is on her way to Broomingdales with her mother, her first trip to the big city. As she looks for ways to spend her money, she finds some other out-of-place things and creatures and people. She has some gentle adventures and makes new friends.

It’s a promising introduction to a new series about a little witch who’s not like all the other witches.

kalliegeorge.com
candlewick.com

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Review of Stella & Marigold, by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Starred Review 0

Stella & Marigold

written by Annie Barrows
illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Chronicle Books, 2024. 102 pages.
Review written October 26, 2024, from a library book.
Starred Review

Oh, this book is charming. We’ve got a new classic beginning chapter book duo on our hands here.

Stella and Marigold are sisters. Stella is seven, and Marigold is four. And they have quirky, wonderful, imaginative adventures together. They loved each other, from the moment Stella told the new baby, “I’m Stella. I’m your sister. I’m going to tell you all the secret things I know. I would never tell them to anyone else, but I’ll tell them to you. Forever and ever.”

The adventures are quirky. Like a plumber discovering something Marigold put into bathroom drain, and Stella telling a story that helps Marigold deal with being found out. Or going to the zoo and Marigold getting lost in the Meerkat Mound, and Stella cheering her up by telling a story of when the Vice President came to town and her driver got lost, and Marigold gave them directions.

A lot of the stories are about the girls’ imaginations getting activated together – as truly happens best with sisters.

And it goes without saying that Sophie Blackall’s illustrations bring everything to life and make the book that much more charming. Definitely a treat for reading aloud or for a kid ready to read their own chapter books.

chroniclekids.com

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Review of Rainbow the Koala, by Remy Lai

Animal Characters, Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Graphic Novel 0

Surviving the Wild

Rainbow the Koala

by Remy Lai

Henry Holt and Company, 2022. 108 pages.
Review written May 4, 2022, from a library book

This is part of a new graphic novel series fictionalizing the lives of baby animals in actual situations of environmental danger.

Rainbow the Koala is, no surprise, almost unbearably cute. It features a tiny baby koala still living in his mother’s pouch. (Did you know koalas are marsupials like kangaroos?) As Rainbow grows up, he learns from his mother to always climb trees when in danger.

Before long, she sends him out on his own. He has trouble finding water because the forest is drier than ever. He has some encounters with humans in his efforts to survive.

But then a terrible wildfire strikes. Rainbow does what he was taught and climbs as high as he can. Amazingly, he survives — and this story is based on the story of a little koala found high in a eucalyptus tree after the fires of 2019-20 in Australia.

There’s another book in this series, Star the Elephant that tells about a little elephant whose home is threatened by deforestation. The graphic novels are easy for young readers to understand, and oh my goodness, these books are cute.

remylai.com
mackids.com

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*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books.

Review of J. D. and the Great Barber Battle, by J. Dillard, illustrated by Akeem S. Roberts

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary 0

J. D. and the Great Barber Battle

by J. Dillard
illustrated by Akeem S. Roberts

Kokila (Penguin Random House), 2021. 126 pages.
Review written January 11, 2022, from a library book

Third grade is starting for J. D., and it’s time for his mom to cut the Afro he’s had all his life. She does a terrible job. He gets teased mercilessly by everyone at school. He tries using her relaxer on it, but that just makes things worse.

So J. D., who’s an excellent artist, decides to cut his own hair. He practices on his little brother first, and does a great job. Turns out, he’s a really great barber! His friends start coming to him for haircuts instead of the only barber in town, who takes a long time and doesn’t know the latest styles.

But the other barber — a father and son operation — isn’t happy with the competition from a kid. So that’s when J. D. decides to challenge him to a competition.

This is a fun story. My grown-up mind gets hung up on details like child labor laws and business regulations and if a kid would really want to spend that much time on Saturdays cutting hair. But there’s even some math involved as J. D. starts calculating his earnings and what he can buy. Of course, the best part is seeing a kid take something on and thrive.

This is the first of a new chapter book series.

penguin.com/kids

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*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books.

Review of Orris and Timble: The Beginning, by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Carmen Mok

Animal Characters, Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Starred Review 0

Orris and Timble

The Beginning

by Kate DiCamillo
illustrated by Carmen Mok

Candlewick, 2024. 80 pages.
Review written May 8, 2024, from a library book
Starred Review

This is the start of a new beginning chapter book series by Kate DiCamillo, and it’s tender and sweet and brilliant.

Orris the rat lives in an old abandoned barn. We see his treasures: A red velvet slipper, a yellow marble, and a sardine can. The sardine can is for “Imperial Sardines” and has the picture of a fish wearing a crown and saying, “Make the good and noble choice!!”

That phrase haunts Orris when he discovers a young owl with his claws caught in a mousetrap nailed to the floor, crying for help. Owls eat rats, so at first Orris leaves the owl struggling and goes back to his own home. But in spite of himself, he wants to make the good and noble choice.

I like the way when Orris decides to save the owl, whose name is Timble, Orris is obviously frustrated with himself and says, “For the love of Pete!”

And this book tells, in simple but evocative language, how Orris rescues Timble, and how this becomes the beginning of their friendship.

This book is lovely – beautifully illustrated and with a warmly relatable story as we see Orris make the good and noble choice despite great fear – and then reap the consequences.

katedicamillo.com
carmenmokstudio.com
candlewick.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Billy Miller Makes a Wish, by Kevin Henkes

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

Billy Miller Makes a Wish

by Kevin Henkes

Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins), 2021. 179 pages.
Review written April 29, 2021, from a library book
Starred Review

I like it when beginning chapter books feature characters and situations that match the age of the child who will be reading them. Billy Miller Makes a Wish captures second-grade situations and concerns beautifully.

The book opens with the wish from the title:

When Billy Miller blew out the eight candles on his birthday cake, he made a wish. He wished that something exciting would happen.

Not more than ten minutes later – even before the present opening had begun – a police car and an ambulance flew past Billy’s house and raced down the block. The wail of sirens stopped nearby.

When Billy’s old neighbor ends up dying, he feels awfully guilty about his wish. Even when assured that Mr. Tooley was old and sick and was going to die soon anyway and it had nothing to do with Billy’s wish, more exciting-but-bad things start to happen.

Billy’s best friend is on a trip for the summer and so he’s got a lot of time with his family – including his four-year-old sister, Sal. I love the way Sal is portrayed, so lovable but so annoying. She decides to make “Symphony Cards” to give the family of their neighbor who died – using Billy’s new birthday markers. And then she doesn’t actually want to let the family have them. And that’s only the beginning.

This book is a quick read, but it will keep you smiling. I like how creatively Kevin Henkes came up with exciting things to happen to Billy, in answer to his wish.

kevinhenkes.com
harpercollinschildrens.com

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Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

What did you think of this book?

*Note* To try to catch up on posting reviews, I’m posting the oldest reviews I’ve written on my blog without making a page on my main website. They’re still good books!