Bob Shea

Goat is wildly jealous of Unicorn in this picture book from Bob Shea, deeply resentful of being upstaged in almost every arena, from transport—while Goat bicycles to school, Unicorn flies!—to treats—when Goat brings marshmallow squares, Unicorn makes it rain cupcakes! But once he actually speaks to this newcomer, Goat is surprised to discover that Unicorn thinks he is the impressive one, and that there are things that Unicorn is jealous of as well (goat cheese! cloven hooves!). show more Eventually the two become a team, with complementary qualities that make them, well... pretty great.

Published in 2013, Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great is the first of two picture book featuring these characters—the second is the 2019 Unicorn Is Maybe Not So Great After All—and offers a humorous look at the common childhood experience of jealousy. I appreciated the pouty, resentful tone of Goat's various declarations about Unicorn, whom he assumes is very self involved, as I think it reflects how a young child might react, if feeling insecure about being outshone by a peer. I also liked the conclusion, which flips the script, highlighting how even those who seem to possess everything might feel insecure about how they measure up to others. That being said, while I liked the story here, and could even appreciate the snappy, melodramatic way it was told, somehow the end product didn't wow me as much as I expected it to, given the fact that so many of my friends seem to love this one. My funny bone (notoriously hard to reach) wasn't tickled, and I found the artwork mostly unappealing. I've enjoyed other Bob Shea titles, and I've also enjoyed other humorous unicorn stories, so I'm not sure why this one left me mostly indifferent. Tastes vary of course, so I'd still recommend this one to young unicorn lovers with a sense of humor, as well as anyone seeking children's stories about jealousy, learning to communicate, and eventually, friendship. show less

Happily delivering donuts to his camping friends, Reuben the bear is dismayed to discover that someone has wet his pants. Terribly embarrassed, his dismay turns to outrage, as he accuses first one and then the other of his companions of being the one responsible. Remarkably patient, his friends assure him that accidents can happen, but our ursine hero, realizing that the others are not to blame, decides the incident must be the result of defective pants...

Pairing a humorous but sympathetic show more story about a common childhood dilemma - the embarrassment of wetting one's pants - with entertaining artwork, Who Wet My Pants? manages to be both amusing and perceptive. Reading it elicited a chuckle, while also reminding me of how prone I was, as a young child myself, to an excruciating level of embarrassment about certain things, from passing gas to squeaking shoes. I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that Reuben never accepts the obvious fact that he himself is responsible for his wet pants - will it give the impression that it is OK to blame others for one's own actions (however involuntary)? - but perhaps the ending is a realistic look at childhood saving face. Recommended to fans of Bob Shea and Zachariah OHora, and to young children who are embarrassed by the fact that they have wet their own pants. show less

Goat is miffed about being outshined by a sparkly newcomer to town, but Unicorn, like many popular people, disarms Goat by being genuinely friendly (and especially enthusiastic about his pizza - goat cheese, of course ("This cheese is fa-tas-tic! So creamy and delicious....Lucky! I can only eat glitter and rainbows. Darn my sensitive stomach!"). The two end up friends once Unicorn admires all the cool things about Goat, and Goat is won over ("You know something, Unicorn? I had a feeling we'd show more be friends").

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Re-read November 2021 show less

Ballet Cat and Sparkles the Pony were best friends who played together every day. Unfortunately, the ever exuberant Ballet Cat always wanted to do the same thing: 'play' ballet. When Sparkles evinces less enthusiasm than usual for their game, after his feline friend once again insists on dancing, Ballet Cat insists on knowing why. His secret - that sometimes he doesn't want to play ballet - isn't the friendship-breaker that he fears. Instead, he learns that Ballet Cat also has a secret...

A show more charming little early reader about being a true friend, Ballet Cat: The Totally Secret Secret taps into a number of themes relevant to younger children, from their absorption in imaginative games - the dance they perform is part of a larger storytelling game - to their often heedless desire to get their own way, even in play. The ending, in which Ballet Cat reveals that there is something she likes more than ballet (Sparkles, of course!) is really quite sweet. I thought the dialogue here really captured childhood speech patterns - something confirmed for me after hearing this book read aloud at story-hour numerous times - and appreciated the variation of type size, and how this was used to express the characters' emotions. The artwork, done in a cartoon-like style on brightly colored pages, will capture children's attention, even as the story engages them. Recommended to anyone looking for entertaining early readers addressing issues of friendship and control. show less