School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-These small-format books with simple texts, bold cartoon illustrations, and CDs pocketed inside the covers deliver strong messages through music and text. In Strangers, the lead singer and songwriter for the band 1000 Clowns advises children on how to recognize strangers and raps his simple rule several times: "Don't talk to strangers in the park. Never talk to strangers in a car. Stay away from strangers after school. Don't talk to strangers-that's the rule." Cartoon and photo images tinted in bright pinks, oranges, and blues depict a young boy and his big white sheepdog strolling through an urban environment. The CD's bouncy music incorporates cymbals, whistles, and maracas. Reggae superstar Shaggy presents a more sophisticated, more adult message. He sings about the loving support he received from his mother, teaching values to his own children, and the importance of family love and life goals, and advises, "Just never give up, you can never give up. In this life you can lead, if you only believe." The brightly colored illustrations are outlined in black with texture added to buildings, sidewalks, and floors. Children will enjoy these upbeat deliveries.-Karen Land, Greenport Public School, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Rappers LL Cool J and Doug E. Fresh were the first to offer their wisdom. Now, Scholastic's HipKidHop series continues with platinum-selling recording artist Shaggy as he waxes poetic about his mother in Hope, illus. by Joseph Buckingham Jr. "I remember-wasn't so long ago.../ We had a one-room shack/ and the living was low," Shaggy begins, yet his mother cheered him on: "In order to achieve what you need,/ you can never give up, you can never give up." From songwriter Kevi, who contributed two songs to the multiplatinum Rugrats soundtrack, Don't Talk to Strangers, illus. by JibJab Media, puts a familiar warning in verse. A CD single accompanies each book. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
REVIEW MISSING From HORN BOOK Fall 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
