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THE RED JACKET

Name: THE RED JACKET
Author: Bob Holt
ISBN: 9780063237605

by Bob Holt ; illustrated by Bob Holt ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 4, 2023

A delightful story of finding self-confidence and friends—and then paying it forward.

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A red jacket leads to big changes.

A small gray bird gives Bob, a sorrowful sea gull, a red jacket with fries in its pockets because it’s no longer needed. Bob is increasingly thrilled by the “swanky stylish” coat, which feels like “wearing a big hug,” and the jacket also inspires him to be outgoing and helpful. Crabs and flounders are astounded to see this side of Bob, and when he returns to the undifferentiated flock, they greet him enthusiastically. Oblivious to a wave about to descend, Bob is spun in the undertow. When he washes up on the beach with the other detritus, the jacket is gone. Bob is on the brink of returning to his depressed state. Then his many pals find and return the jacket. Bob realizes that he has “so many friends, even without my swanky red jacket.” He happily puts it back on, but then, as a mournful turtle trudges by, he offers the jacket, because “I no longer need it,” and the turtle visibly perks up. The speech bubbles are in clear, large letters, the jacket’s red pop brightens the pages along with red and blue crabs and the blue sea, and the animals, drawn in cartoon style, are entirely personable. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A delightful story of finding self-confidence and friends—and then paying it forward. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: July 4, 2023

ISBN: 9780063237605

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
THE UNLUCKY KID
by Bob Holt ; illustrated by Bob Holt

- BOOK REVIEW
LET'S TACO ABOUT HOW GREAT YOU ARE
by Bob Holt ; illustrated by Bob Holt

PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

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PETE THE CAT'S 12 GROOVY DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

by James Dean ; illustrated by James Dean ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 18, 2018

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among

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Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude.

If it weren’t part of the title and repeated on every other page, readers unfamiliar with Pete’s shtick might have a hard time arriving at “groovy” to describe his Christmas celebration, as the expressionless cat displays not a hint of groove in Dean’s now-trademark illustrations. Nor does Pete have a great sense of scansion: “On the first day of Christmas, / Pete gave to me… / A road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” The cat is shown at the wheel of a yellow microbus strung with garland and lights and with a star-topped tree tied to its roof. On the second day of Christmas Pete gives “me” (here depicted as a gray squirrel who gets on the bus) “2 fuzzy gloves, and a road trip to the sea. / GROOVY!” On the third day, he gives “me” (now a white cat who joins Pete and the squirrel) “3 yummy cupcakes,” etc. The “me” mentioned in the lyrics changes from day to day and gift to gift, with “4 far-out surfboards” (a frog), “5 onion rings” (crocodile), and “6 skateboards rolling” (a yellow bird that shares its skateboards with the white cat, the squirrel, the frog, and the crocodile while Pete drives on). Gifts and animals pile on until the microbus finally arrives at the seaside and readers are told yet again that it’s all “GROOVY!”

Pete’s fans might find it groovy; anyone else has plenty of other “12 Days of Christmas” variants to choose among . (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-06-267527-9

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

- BOOK REVIEW
PETE THE KITTY'S FIRST DAY OF PRESCHOOL
by Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean

- BOOK REVIEW
I LOVE PETE THE KITTY
by James Dean & Kimberly Dean ; illustrated by James Dean

- BOOK REVIEW
TOOL SCHOOL
by Joan Holub ; illustrated by James Dean

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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)