Someone New

Someone New by Anne Sibley O’Brien  32 pages

I like the concept of this picture book. It’s the story of three students who are new to their classroom. There are three new students in the school who are from Guatemala, Korea and Somalia. Each teacher assigns the new child a “buddy” to help them navigate their new environment.

I didn’t like that all the children assimilate easily; there is little conflict or an episode of the day not going well. I believe that “Someone New,” is about trying to find common ground. However the message completely overlooked that it’s hard, very hard, to do so.

I was also dismayed when the age range from this book is 5-8 years old and aimed at Kindergarten to Grade 3. It seemed to talk down to that age range

 “Someone New” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Being a Captain is Hard Work: A Captain No Beard Story

Being a Captain is Hard Work: A Captain No Beard Story by Carole P. Roman, Illustrated by Bonnie LeMaire   60 pages

In this 10^th episode of the series, Captain No Beard is in a hurry to get to Dew Rite Volcano. He’s in such a hurry that he doesn’t listen to his crew.

Mongo warns the captain about the dark clouds on the horizon.

Zach is trying to raise the flag, but the wind is getting stronger. He’s not sure the flag should be hoisted in such bad weather.

Polly is sent to the galley to make but squawks about the impending storm.

The rest of the crew is hard at work, too.

But Captain No Beard doesn’t care. He doesn’t listen to his crew. And before long, the storm Mongo first warned about is tossed the Flying Dragon around like autumn leaves. There is almost a fire in the galley and he almost loses Zach.

The illustrations are gorgeous. I love the Cloud Key, which identified the various clouds. Who knew there 10 types of clouds? I found only one problem: lack of diversity. Oh yes there were animals and people, but Roman missed a teachable opportunity. The lack of color made the teamwork the crew demonstrated and the lesson the captain learned weak and constricting. That’s why I gave Being a Captain is Hard Work 4 out of 5 stars.