Janee Trasler

Whatever other complaints one might have about Scholastic, you have to admit that their publishing division generally knows what kids like - and that's funny stories. This is amply demonstrated in their fairly recent line of transitional easy reader comics, Acorn, which are a step before the extremely popular Branches series.
Acorn hasn't been around long enough, and its audience is too transitory, to really gain "fans" per say, and the Unicorn and Yeti and Crabby series are the only ones show more I've actually gotten requests for. Unicorn and Yeti because unicorns, and Crabby because I have a big fan base for Jonathan Fenske's work (although kids don't usually remember his name, they absolutely recognize his characters!).

However, this age group does really well with recommendations, especially when many of the normal browsing mediums for the library aren't open, and I've been getting lots of requests for easy readers, funny easy readers, more Acorn books, stories like Elephant and Piggie, and "anything, you know what my kid likes." So I'm glad to have more new titles from Acorn to recommend and I loved this new series from Janee Trasler, which fits in perfectly with Acorn's gentle humor.

Also, now I feel like those online recipes where you have to read through paragraphs before you get to the actual ingredients.

Three bulgy-eyed frogs look askance at a friendly brown dog. "Dog wants to play." Dog tries to play with the frogs, but ends in failure every time. The frogs tell her to "Go" and she sadly walks away... but when a bear shows up she returns and her play-fails save the day! The frogs are ready to play now, but it will take some help for them to figure out a way for Dog to join in their play. Dog realizes at the very end that there are a few things frogs do that she might not want to join in with, like eating flies!

Full-page art is broken up with speech bubbles and simple sentences, some in larger or smaller font. Some of the text is against a brown (dirt) background and more difficult to read. There is a quick tutorial in the back on drawing the frogs and the simple art is humorous and appealing. Kids will giggle over Dog's flops and failures, especially when she gets peppered all over with red wasp stings.

Verdict: A funny addition to the Acorn series, sure to please young readers and their caregivers. A must-have for your easy readers or beginning chapters.

ISBN: 9781338540390; Published May 2020 by Scholastic; Purchased two copies for the library show less

Chickies get a brother! At first they are jealous and territorial of their sheep, cow, and pig, but those animals help them see it can be fun to have another one join the "team." Like the other Chickies books, this one has an easy, sing-song-y rhyme scheme and story pattern; the toddler loves it.

The chickies are back for another silly, fun book.

It's picture time and the chickies are getting ready. They jump in and out of the chest to look for clothes, whisper and shout, make little and big costumes, and finally get their picture taken with a silly pig. They look at the pictures of smiling and frowning, of hatching from their eggs, and remember all their fun adventures.

This is supposed to be a book of opposites, but I found the concept aspect of it to be weak. The interruptions of show more the pig and cow threw off the rhyme and the opposites and the concept was weak at best. However, as a cute, funny story it works quite well.

The book is a sturdy square with a slightly padded cover. I prefer to avoid padded covers because they tend to, in my experience, be less sturdy. I've had to replace several of the Chickie books previously due to this. However, this series is popular enough that I'd overlook the padded cover and purchase it anyways.

Verdict: While I wouldn't recommend it as a concept book, it's a fun addition to a popular series that parents and kids enjoy.

ISBN: 9780062342317; Published 2016 by HarperCollins; Purchased for the library show less

Repetitive rhyming works just right for this bedtime book. Sheep, pig, and cow are trying to get the chickies to bed, but they need one more thing before they can sleep - a drink, the potty, a story, etc.