As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
40 pp.
| Holt/Ottaviano
| March, 2018
|
TradeISBN 978-1-62779-649-1$17.99
(3)
K-3
Ruby is spending a week at ninja school, where each "sapling" is to discover his or her "secret skill." Ruby fears that she'll never find hers, but her fellow students' homesickness gives her a crafty idea. (The book concludes with instructions for making two different stuffed-animal dragons.) Pilutti's skills are whiz-bang plotting and creating art as warm as it is witty.
(3)
K-3
Despite conventional thought and because they are friends, Squirrel knows that Bear will not eat him, and Bear knows he will not eat Squirrel. However, after a long hibernation, Squirrel does look particularly appetizing--that's why Squirrel is ready with delicious blueberry pancakes. Neat gouache illustrations in muted tones add humorous details to this story about the essence of friendship: trust and understanding.
32 pp.
| Holt/Ottaviano
| October, 2014
|
TradeISBN 978-0-8050-9759-7$16.99
(4)
K-3
Well, that's handy: the ten rules of being a superhero are great rules for kids as well (number seven: "Superheroes must rest so that they can recharge"). The rules, demonstrated by (toy) Captain Magma and (owner/sidekick) Lava Boy, don't add up to more than the sum of their parts, but they set up cool vignettes and a terrific visual joke using perspective.
40 pp.
| Sterling
| May, 2008
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4027-4002-2$14.95
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Linda Bleck.
In this city-mouse-and-country-mouse update, each of two boys eagerly anticipates his visit to see the other, who is living somewhere that seems "perfect." It's all pleasingly executed if unclear whether each boy's subsequent disillusionment with his friend's living environment reflects personal preference or just homesickness. Kids will be wooed by the turn-it-over-to-read-the-other-story format and the clean-lined illustrations packed with community-specific details.