The New Kid

January 1, 1999
PreS-Gr 2-These two phonics-based easy readers would make a welcome addition to any collection. Whether it be about The New Kid in school or the search for a lost sneaker (Lost and Found), these stories are interesting, make sense, and have engaging characters. However, it is the colorful photographs on double-page spreads that make these texts come alive. The children's facial expressions and natural body language perfectly express humor, exasperation, insecurity, and other plot-related emotions. "Phonic Guidelines" and tips for reading with children round out these books that beginning readers will reach for again and again. Buy multiples!-Diane Janoff, Queens Borough Public Library, NY

November 1, 1998
%% This is a multi-book review: SEE also the title "The Rainy Day Grump." SEE the title "Jungle Jack Hanna's What Zookeepers Do" for next imprint and review text. %%Eaton: Gr. K^-2; Hood: Gr. K^-1. In the new Real Kids Readers series, these two books tell simple, realistic stories and are illustrated with full-color photographs of contemporary children from diverse backgrounds. Eaton's book is more a situation than a story: Clay is grumpy because it's raining, and he can't play ball, so his sister, Rosie, tries to coax him to play with her and dress up as pirate, cowboy, and clown, until she hits on a solution that makes him laugh instead of frown. Hood's story is about a new kid, Sid, who acts silly and irritates the teacher and the class, until one boy remembers how hard it is to be a newcomer and reaches out to ask Sid to play. The rhymes are flat ("I think he is sad, and so he acts bad"), and the obviously posed glossy photos of kids in cool, casual clothes look like ad copy. What children will enjoy are the stormy moods in both books. A note to parents points out the phonic guidelines that will help kids learn to read. ((Reviewed November 1, 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)