Review by New York Times Review
It's time for school, and a boy can't locate his socks, ball, book and so on. (Sound familiar?) This board book hits its mark wonderfully by turning that daily parenting quagmire into a graphically appealing seek-and-find adventure, with a clever lesson in colors thrown in. Light ("Swap!"), a master of pen and ink, adds one colored object to his retro-bold black lines on every page, asking his audience to track it down. On the last page the school bus arrives - yikes! - before the boy's got hold of his lunchbox. Mom to the rescue. DON'T GO TO SCHOOL! By Máire Zepf. Illustrated by Tarsila Krüse. 40 pp. Sterling. $14.95. (Picture book; ages 3 - 6) In this gentle, funny debut tale of helicopter parenting taken to its logical extreme, Benno, a dapper young bear, is excited about his first day of school, but Mom is having a tough time. Is that scenario a stab at reverse psychology aimed to help quell kids' fear, or a social comment aimed at hoverers? Well, both. "Stay here with me, Benno!" she cries, then tries to get him to leave the playground because "I don't know anyone here!" Krüse's art, in bear-friendly shades of honey and moss, is as warm and balanced as Zepf's story. THE TEACHER'S PET ByAnica Mrose Rissi. Illustrated byZachariah OHora. 32 pp. Disney-Hyperion. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 3 - 6) The teacher in this amusing classroom story is named, ominously, Mr. Stricter, but he's as tenderhearted as they come - which is a big problem when the class tadpole, Bruno, turns out to be a hippo. As Bruno wreaks havoc, Mr. Stricter showers him with praise. The children must get their teacher to wise up and show Bruno the door. Rissi (the "Anna, Banana" books), with her edge-of-grossout humor, and OHora ("Horrible Bear!"), with his giant-headed, candy-colored people, have over-the-top sensibilities that mesh fantastically. TWINDERGARTEN Written by Nikki Ehrlich. Illustrated by Zoey Abbott. 32 pp. Harper. $15.99. (Picture book; ages 4 - 6) For the ever-growing number of school-age twins, kindergarten is not just the start of elementary school, but the first real separation from their siblings. This reassuring debut feels up-to-date as it follows biracial twins named Dax and Zoe, used to going together "like peanut butter and jelly." They zig and zag through believable emotional reactions to being in different classrooms on their first day of school. With calm white space and feathery but orderly lines, Abbott's lovely colored-pencil art makes the schoolday seem like a breeze. ZOMBELINA SCHOOL DAYS By Kristýn Crow. Illustrated by Molly Idle. 32 pp. Bloomsbury. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 - 8) Zombie humor seems like a good match for first-day jitters. Witness a little green schoolgirl called Zombelina. The eager little undead dancer is back for her third book, and she waltzes right into her classroom ready for some clever rhyming action. She raises her hand, but it falls to the floor; she really puts her nose in a book. But she's in better shape than a shy, blue ghoul named Morty, whom she reaches out to help. The Caldecott Honor-winning Idle's ("Flora and the Flamingo") art seems to glide and dance mischievously across the pages. ONLINE An expanded visual presentation of this week's column is at nytimes.com/books.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [August 27, 2017]
Review by Booklist Review
If Dr. Frankenstein, Tim Burton, or Charles Addams had tried to create a picture-book protagonist, it might have been Zombelina, a little girl zombie who loves to dance. No matter that her body parts are stitched together and sometimes fly off; this greenish girl boogies with the creatures that haunt her house, including mummies, ghosts, skeletons, bats, and rats. Zombelina's weird world collides with our own when her mother enrolls her in an actual ballet class. Zombelina gives the other girls at the barre the creeps, but the teacher, Madame Maladroit, is impressed by the way Zombelina can (literally) hold her legs over her head. At the final recital, Zombelina's stage fright scares the audience into fleeing the theater, leaving Zombelina dejected until her ghastly family and friends fill the room to save the day. The rhyming text (with a few groaner puns) fits the dance-beat theme, while the friendly illustrations offer all kinds of ghoulish surprises. An especially funny horror story with a warm message in its unbeating heart.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Zombelina (no relation to Thumbelina) loves to dance, especially for her family. She can moonwalk with mummies, boogie with bats, wiggle with werewolves, rock out with rats, spin like a specter, and glide like a ghost. Then her mother decides she should become a real ballerina and sends her to classes. Her instructor, Madame Maladroit, thinks she's superb, but her classmates aren't so sure about the new green student. After much practice, Zombelina is ready for the big recital. Unfortunately stage fright takes over and all she can do is hold out her arms and make a few moans. Shouts of ZOMBIE! ensue and the audience runs away. Luckily the seats are soon filled with Zombelina's family and spooks, so she dances for them. Her mother says, "You're so good, it's scary!" and her teacher proclaims, "DREAD-fully unique!" Back home via broom they have a fun party where Zombelina wraps up the theme of the story, "My performance was haunting tonight!/My family makes everything turn out all right." Crow's rhyming text is ready-made for reading aloud. Idle's colored-pencil illustrations are bursting with details, facial expressions, wonderfully slightly spooky touches, and when appropriate, love. An unusually well-done mix of Halloween, dance, and family that's sure to please many youngsters.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Rhymed couplets chronicle a young zombie girl's progression from dancing at home to ballet classes (her detachable limbs give her amazing extension) to a recital. Although Zombelina has a moment of stage fright during her performance, her supportive family's shrieking, howling, and cheering see her through. The charming, funny, and technically accurate dance illustrations outshine the somewhat hokey text. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Get ready to applaud the pluck of a young zombie with a passion for ballet. Zombelina loves dancing: "I moonwalk with mummies and boogie with bats. / I wiggle with werewolves and rock out with rats. / I spin like a specter and glide like a ghost. / But I love to dance for my family the most." With a vampire baby brother, a mother who is a witch and a mad scientist for a dad, this sure-footed protagonist comes from an eccentric clan supportive of her dream to be a ballerina. So on Saturday nights, she attends class with Madame Maladroit. Although her teacher is impressed with her talent, Zombelina's classmates cringe and say she's "taking [her] talents too far." Here, Idle contrasts the studio's ballerina-pink palette with the lime green presence of Zombelina, who has detached her leg from her hip socket in order to better execute a leg extension. The illustrations add fun and ably complement Crow's rollicking, rhyming text. Some pages provide lush spreads, including some that are aglow in red hues during the night of Zombelina's debut. Others feature vignettes showing her dedicated practice of plis and pirouettes, popping against the white background. Budding ballerinas will surely appreciate this tale, but also share with any child who may need an example of what determination and practice can accomplish when applied to what one loves. (Picture book. 4-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
